Epic Games and Microsoft lead the donations raised
Gamers and gaming companies have donated over £150million (nearly $200million USD) to Ukraine’s humanitarian efforts, with Epic Games and Microsoft donating the most.
A new report from Levvvel has found that since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the games industry has managed to raise approximately £150,067,319 in aid of the country and its citizens as the war escalates.
“We’ve created a definitive list of all donations sent to various Ukrainian charitable causes,” Levvvel explains. “To date, a total of $195,676,600 [over £150million] has been donated or pledged across these companies and their fundraising efforts. As the figures change we will continuously update this list.”
As the bar chart indicates, Epic Games and Microsoft lead the donations to Ukraine with £109million ($144million), thanks to a scheme that ran between March 20 and April 3 where any money spent in Fortnite would be donated to several charities in of aid Ukraine.
Second on the list is Humble Bundle, which raised £15million ($20million), by selling a bundle containing £1,900 worth of games in March that could be claimed by donating £30.
Other notable companies included on the chart are itch.io, which raised £4,842,456 ($6,370,522), Riot Games, that raised £4.1million ($5.4million), Embracer Group, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Supercell, Wargaming, Moon Active, 11 Bit Studios, Bandai Namco, and Unity.
“The Russian gaming market was expected to reach $3.6billion in 2025; however, with current trends, that figure will be likely significantly smaller,” the report also added.
Alongside donations to aid Ukraine’s humanitarian efforts, many game companies and developers have announced they would no longer be selling their products in Russia and Belarus. This includes the likes of CD Projekt Red and EA Sports, while Ukrainian developer GSC Game World recently revealed that it would be putting its upcoming title, Stalker 2: Heart Of Chernobyl, on hold due to the ongoing invasion.
In other news, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s current-gen versions have been delayed.
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