In case you have missed the global headlines, Russia recently started an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. This has caused a lot of video game companies to show support for Ukraine, either by taking Russian teams out of their game, as is the case with EA and FIFA or by giving money to organizations that help Ukraine, as is the case with CD Projekt Red and The Pokemon Company. 11 Bit Studios, the Poland-based developers of the anti-war game This War of Mine and Frostpunk were some of the first studios to step forward on the matter.
Last week, 11 Bit Studios announced that all the profits made from all the profits from This War of Mine and its DLCs, which were all also given heavy price cuts, would go directly to the Ukrainian Red Cross. The full message reads as follows:
Today Russian military forces attacked the free country of Ukraine – our neighbours. As a Polish game studio and creators of the globally recognised anti-war game, This War of Mine – one that directly speaks about the suffering and misery of civilians who are affected by war – we’d like to hereby announce our company statement: we stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Just words would be empty without a meaningful act though, and the timing is crucial, so the act is as follows: for the next seven days, all profits from This War of Mine, all its DLCs, on all stores and all platforms will go to a special fund. A week from now, this money will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to directly support victims of war in Ukraine.
Let this message resonate with everything you know about this war and how war kills people, devastates their lives and homes. Let us – players and developers together – do everything we can to support victims of war in Ukraine.
sincerely, all the people of 11 bit studios
On March 1, nearly a week later, the team has made a follow-up statement that they will be donating $715,000 to the Ukrainian Red Cross. A massive amount of money that was raised in the last week alone by sales of This War of Mine. However, as the one-week window closes today, March 3, 11 Bit Studios has decided to extend it until tomorrow, giving more players time to get involved.
UPDATE: This is a quick addition to yesterday’s article to state that the fundraiser is over. 11 Bit Studios, along with the larger gaming community, has raised $850K to donate to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Following in 11 Bit Studios’ footsteps, a lot of other studios have since come out to donate in support of Ukraine. And while we can’t match the dollar signs, we can match the sentiment. We will be giving away newly purchased copies of This War of Mine on our stream this weekend and all of the profits from February will be donated to the Ukraninan Red Cross. This isn’t much, but we hope that it encourages you all to do the same. Take the time to learn about the current global events, and do your part as you see fit. #fuckthewar
