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Itch.io Bundle for Ukraine has raised nearly $2.5m [UPDATE]

Itch.io Bundle for Ukraine has raised nearly $2.5m  [UPDATE]

[UPDATE March 9th]

The running total raised by the bundle has leaped overnight to $2,391,826.18 - more than half of the $4 million total goal. 163,848 contributors have pledged an average of $14.59, with one user contributing $9,000.

[ORIGINAL ARTICLE]

A charity bundle on games store Itch.io for Ukrainian relief has raised close to $500,000.

The offering, started by developer Necrosoft Games, features 991 indie titles – including Baba is You, Celeste and Towerfall Ascension – soundtracks, books, comics, tabletop RPGs and games tools. It claims that in total, all of this is worth over $6,500 with the studio asking for a $10 minimum donation.

At the time of writing, the Bundle for Ukraine has raised $6462,667.14. The average contribution is $15.03, with a top contribution of $1,536. The aim is to raise $1 million for two charities, the International Medical Corps and Voices of Childen. 

"The people of Ukraine are under attack," Necrosoft wrote.

"As game developers we want to create new worlds, not to destroy the one we have. That's why we've banded together to present this charity bundle to help Ukrainians survive this ordeal and thrive after the war ends. This cause has resonated with creators around the globe, to the extent that our bundle contains almost 1,000 games, tabletop RPGs, books, etc."

Last week, the Ukrainian vice president called upon the games industry to take action against Russia. Several companies, including CD Projekt, have cut ties with Russia and its ally Belarus. Polish developer 11 Bit Studios has donated $688.8k to the Ukrainian Red Cross.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.