In just two weeks, Fortnite raised a cool $144 million for Ukraine aid.
Just two weeks ago, Epic Games announced that they would donate all of their Fortnite proceeds to support people affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine. They were also joined by Xbox, which also pledged to donate its net proceeds from Fortnite during the same period. Fortnite’s fundraising period for Ukraine relief efforts has ended, with the most played battle royale game amassing an eye-popping $144 million from all purchases made in the Fortnite Item Shop. The proceeds are split between five humanitarian organizations currently operating in Ukraine: the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, World Food Programme, World Central Kitchen, and Direct Relief.
Starting Strong
After Epic promised that all proceeds from the game would go towards Ukraine for two weeks, the developer revealed that it had already raised $36 million as part of the effort – just a day after their announcement. It can be speculated that the launch of the new season in Fortnite is one of the main reasons for this, as it’s likely one of the most lucrative periods for the game. With players buying the new battle pass to get exclusive in-game content and characters not available in the Fortnite Item Shop, you could even say that the launch of “Resistance” was a massive success for Epic.
Other Gaming Companies Followed Suit
It’s not just Epic Games who are doing the heavy lifting – other gaming companies have similarly raised funds for Ukraine. Last month, Riot Games, the developer for League of Legends, raised $5.4 million.
There are also indie developer Itch.io’s efforts which took in more than $6 million by offering a collection of over 900 indie games made by more than 700 creators. Players got various games for a paltry $10, including Superhot, Skatebird, etc. The bundle wasn’t just limited to games either; buyers also got tabletop RPGs, books, comics, and music. Itch.io’s Bundle for Ukraine supported two charities: Voices of Children and International Medical Corps.
Not to be outdone, Humble Bundle organized the Stand With Ukraine charity bundle and managed to raise $20 million. The bundle was available until March 25 and featured over 120 games, software, and books, including Back 4 Blood, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, the Warhammer and Pathfinder rule books, and a 12-month license for GameMaker Studio 2. This ginormous digital library could be bought with a minimum donation of $40.
Epic Gives One of the Largest Contributions to Ukraine
The fundraising effort included all real-money Fortnite purchases made over the two weeks, such as gifted battle passes, cosmetic packs such as the Voidlander Pack, Fortnite Crew subscriptions, and V-Bucks packs. According to Epic Games, retail store purchases of in-game outfits and V-Bucks cards were also included if redeemed during the two-week window.
Since the drive coincided with Fortnite’s release of Chapter 3 Season 2, in-game purchases were at their highest. The total funds they have raised ($144 million) make Epic one of the largest corporate donors to humanitarian efforts in the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war – if not the largest outright. For now, it isn’t easy to quantify where Epic’s contribution stands, but the amount is on par with the contributions of some entire countries. For context, the Czech Republic donated $66 million in aid to the Ukrainian refugees and $13.2 million in humanitarian assistance to civilians still residing in Ukraine.
Epic’s donation is a massive amount – it’s going to be an extremely worthy cause, but it also begs the question of just how rich the company is. According to Epic, the Ukraine humanitarian relief program did not alter creator earnings, and they separately funded all creator affiliate payments from code usage from March 20 to April 3.
Final Thoughts With the current season of Fortnite being an eventful one and the introduction of a combat-focused Zero Build mode, new and returning players are popping in left and right to Fortnite to see what the fuss is all about. Epic accumulating over $146 million in just two weeks is impressive. This is just the beginning; who knows what Epic will come up with next? However, one thing that’s sure of is that this is the best time to make a Fortnite account
