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Proceeds will go to multiple humanitarian organisations.
Fortnite’s fundraising period for Ukraine relief efforts has come to an end, with the Battle Royale game amassing a remarkable $144 million over a period of two weeks. The final total of proceeds will be split between five humanitarian organisations currently operating in Ukraine, namely UNICEF, Direct Relief, World Food Programme, World Central Kitchen, and the UN Refugee Agency.
Epic Games originally announced the fundraising effort on March 20, stating that for two weeks all profits from in-game sales would go toward humanitarian relief in Ukraine. Xbox also joined in the fundraising effort, committing its own proceeds from Fortnite through the period. Epic announced the final total via a tweet on the official Fortnite Twitter account:
Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine. Together with the Fortnite community and @Xbox, we raised $144 million USD for @DirectRelief @UNICEF, @WFP, @Refugees and @WCKitchen. pic.twitter.com/lPAa8lmfJnApril 4, 2022
The drive coincided with the release of Fortnite’s Chapter 3, Season 2, during which period in-game purchases will be at their highest. The resulting funds raised makes Epic one of the largest corporate donors to humanitarian efforts in the Russo-Ukraine war, if not the largest outright. It’s difficult to quantify exactly where Epic’s contribution stands, but the amount is equivalent to the contribution of some entire countries. For context, according to this list tracking donations to Ukraine, the Czech Republic donated $66 million in aid to Ukrainian refugees, plus a further $13.2 million in humanitarian aid to civilians still in Ukraine (these figures do not include the Czech Republic’s contributions in military aid).
In short, it’s a massive amount of money going to an extremely worthy cause. In its most recent situation report, UNICEF stated that as of 31 March, an estimated 4 million people had fled Russia’s attack on Ukraine to other countries, while a further 6.5 million people have been displaced within Ukraine itself.
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