All of the game’s profits went toward humanitarian aid for two weeks.
Two weeks ago, with the beginning of their new in-game season, Fortnite developer Epic Games announced that they would be temporarily donating all of the profits from the game to various Ukrainian relief charities in order to aid the country’s populace as they endure invasion by Russia. Yesterday, the charity drive finally ended, and Epic revealed how much they had managed to raise.
In two weeks’ time, Epic and Fortnite’s playerbase successfully raised $144 million, all of which will be donated to relief charities including Direct Relief, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Food Programme.
“Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine,” Epic wrote on the official Fortnite Twitter.
‘Fortnite’ Ukraine Relief Donation Total Is Unlike Anything The Industry Has Seen https://t.co/f9iE3lW1IY
— Forbes Games (@ForbesGames) April 5, 2022
In addition to Epic, many prominent video game developers and publishers joined in on donating proceeds to Ukraine relief. Some standout companies include Microsoft, Riot Games, Humble Bundle, and Itch.io. Itch.io in particular managed to successfully raise over $6 million with a bundle of curated independent games, books, music, and tabletop gaming manuals. Humble Bundle offered a similar bundle of products, which ultimately raised over $20 million.