Epic Games and Microsoft have managed to raise a staggering $36 million in less than 48 hours, which will go towards humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
Over the weekend, both companies pledged that the proceeds from any real-money purchases made in Fortnite between March 20 and April 3 would go to a selection of relief funds: Direct Relief, UNICEF, UNWFP and the UN Refugee Agency. More organisations will also be added to the list "in the coming weeks." It's proven to be the perfect time to make the pledge. Chapter 3 Season 2 also landed on March 20, meaning players are already turning up in droves to pick up the latest battle pass and new cosmetics.
In a news post, Epic said it would be sending out the funds "As quickly as we can", adding that it wouldn't be waiting for the actual donation transactions to be fully processed before sending them to the charities.
"As transactions are reported, we'll log them and send the funds to the humanitarian relief organisations within days," the post read.
Together we’ve already raised $36 million USD for humanitarian relief for Ukraine. The funds will go to @UNICEF, @WFP, @Refugees, @DirectRelief. pic.twitter.com/JQESsGxDVtMarch 21, 2022
It marks yet another game industry figure supporting Ukraine, which has been suffering an ongoing invasion from Russia since February 24. Aside from numerous developers, publishers and storefronts pulling their games from Russia, many have also been donating money and resources to much-needed relief for Ukraine and its people. A huge bundle from indie storefront itch.io raised $6.3 million, while Humble's "Stand with Ukraine" bundle has hit over $10 million.
Considering Epic and Xbox are still promising just under two more weeks of proceeds to Ukraine, I'm sure the final number will be pretty stunning. Things will likely taper off somewhat after the first few days of the new season, but I'm looking forward to seeing just how much money will be raised by the end of it.
