At a glance:
- Proceeds from sales of multiple games will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross
- Companies donating to aid efforts include Bungie, 11 Bit Studios, GSC Game World, and CD Projekt
- Studios with employees in Ukraine, including Ubisoft, TinyBuild and Playrix, detail support and relocation efforts
Original story, Thursday, February 24, 2022: Developers are calling for industry and player support as Ukraine suffers attacks from Russian military forces.
Reports have emerged throughout the day of explosions and gunfire across the country, with the BBC reporting 57 Ukrainians have been killed and 169 have been wounded at the time of writing.
Many of the games companies based in Ukraine, including Frogwares, Vostok Games and Sengi Games, have made statements via social media regarding Russia’s actions, while some have called for more active support.
Polish developer 11 Bit Studios has announced that for the next week, all profits from sales across all stores and platforms of its acclaimed anti-war game This War of Mine, including its DLCs, will go into a special fund.
After seven days, this fund will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to support victims of war in the country.
“We stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the studio said in its statement. “Just words would be empty without a meaningful act though.”
It continued: “Let this message resonate with everything you know about this way 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.”
GOG.com, the PC digital marketplace owned by CD Projekt, confirmed it would be donating all profits from sales of the game and its DLC to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Yevhen8, the indie studio behind Ostriv — a city-building game set in 18th Century Ukraine — simply posted a link to a Reddit forum listing 29 charities that are supporting victims of the war, or other issues that face people in Ukraine.
In its tweet, the company said: “If you want to help us defend our freedom, here’s a list to consider.”
Meanwhile, Stalker developer GSC Game World is calling for donations to a special fundraising account set up by the National Bank of Ukraine to raise money for the country’s armed forces.
In its statement, the studio said: “The future is unknown, but we are sure of our Armed Forces and country. We ask all: do not stand aside and help those in need.”
It added: “Through pain, death, war, fear and inhuman cruelty, Ukraine will persevere. As it always does.”
Industry professionals have also been sharing a link to a website that provides more donation links for those wanting to fund medical supplies, resources for the military, support for children affected by the war and the journalists reporting on the conflict.
Update, Friday, February 25, 2022: Raw Fury has also joined the call for support, promising to make a donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross and urging others to do the same.
“War devastates all it touches, and this is a time where we all need to come together as a community to help,” the publisher wrote. “One of the tenets of Raw Fury is that we treat humans like humans, and when conflicts like this arise, it is more important than ever that we show empathy for each other.”
In addition to the donating its share of This War of Mine sales on GOG, the CD Projekt Group has pledged 1 million PLN ($242,000) to the Polish humanitarian organization PAH, which operates in Ukraine as well as a number of countries in Africa and the Middle-East.
The European Games Developer Federation has also condemned Russia’s actions and called upon the European Union to take action.
“Many European game developers and game developer studios are highly worried about the fate of their friends, colleagues, business partners and subcontractors fighting for their freedom and lives in Ukraine or suffering under the Putin regime in Russia and Belarus,” the group said.
“We honour those who stay and fight. For those who cannot or do not want to fight and are forced to flee their home countries, we ask all European countries to provide a clear fast-track for work and residence permits.”
Ontario-based Digital Extremes also announced that it has donated $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to assist with Ukraine humanitarian efforts, saying, “Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine and those affected by this needless violence.”
Ubisoft has also released a statement regarding its own development teams in Ukraine.
“The safety and wellbeing of our teams and their families is our primary concern, and Ubisoft is fully mobilized to support them moving forward. Over the past few months, Ubisoft has been closely monitoring the situation and has put in place measures to help protect our teams,” the company said. “Last week, we recommended our employees take shelter in a place they consider safe.
“Ubisoft has provided all team members in Ukraine with additional funds to help them cover exceptional costs, such as those related to their travel and relocation, and has paid salaries in advance to account for any potential disruption to banking systems. Ubisoft is providing housing in neighboring countries where teams and their families can take shelter if they wish and are able to do so. To ensure we stay closely connected with all teams, we have set up hotlines to respond to their questions and needs and have put in place an emergency communication system should infrastructures grow unstable. We will continue to adapt and reinforce our assistance as the situation evolves.”
Update, Saturday, February 26, 2022: Gardenscapes developers Playrix has also detailed the measures it has taken to support more than 1,500 staff it has in Ukraine.
As of Thursday, February 24, all employees in the region have been on paid leave. Several 24/7 hotlines have also been set up to assist with financial aid, legal support, relocation and more.
“We’re monitoring the situation and will expand our support measures accordingly,” the company told GamesIndustry.biz in a statement. “In addition, we’re reorganizing our projects’ update schedule and will work on ensuring the stable operation of our games.”
Update, Monday, February 28, 2022: Destiny developer Bungie announced on Friday that it would donate 100% of the proceeds from the first two days of its Game2Give drive towards humanitarian aid efforts supporting victims of the invasion.
The studio also included links to Direct Relief, Voices of Children and International Rescue Committee for those who wish to donate directly.
Slipways developer Jakub Wasilewski announced he would donate all profits from sales of the game for the next week. Proceeds will go to the Polish Red Cross’ fund to provide aid for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, another Polish studio — Crunching Koalas — has also pledged all profits from every game it has published will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
The developer has ten games across PC and console, including Bonkies, Darkwood and My Memory of Us, and will donate seven days’ worth of proceeds to the organisation.
Last week, Tinybuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik detailed how his company has been supporting its staff in the region, having “ran through possible scenarios” weeks ago. The indie publisher accelerated relocation procedures and offered more support to anyone trying to move to the Western part of Ukraine.
“We have a team of strong leads coordinating efforts of getting people to safety,” Nichiporchik wrote. “Logistics, finance, housing. The best thing to do is keep a cool head, think pragmatic and anticipate the situation. Nobody gets left behind.”
On Monday morning, Thunderful announced it will donate all sales from SteamWorld Heist and Bridge Constructor from the next week to the Red Cross, and included a link to the organisation for those who wish to donate directly.
“We thank our friends at 11 Bit Studios and others for leading by example. We encourage our fans and peers in the industry to support the victims in Ukraine in whichever way they can,” the company wrote.
Hinterland Studios founder and CEO Raphael Van Lierop said the Long Dark developer has made its own donation to support Ukraine.
“We look around us at the state of the world and we feel helpless to change it,” Van Lierop said in a post on LinkedIn. “We feel that we ‘only make video games’ and that this isn’t important or meaningful in light of international events. That may be true. But we still have to try, and believe, and hope. We *canmake a difference. We must make a difference.”
To that end, Hinterland is donating $125,000 CAD ($99,000) to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Update, Tuesday, March 1: Embracer Group has said it will donate $1 million to charities providing aid to those impacted by the invasion. The donation will be split between the International Committee of the Red Cross, SOS Children’s Villages and ACT Alliance.
The publisher also announced its CEO, Lars Wingefors will match this donation, pledging another $1 million “to support our employees and contractors who are directly impacted by this crisis.”
Euro Truck Simulator 2 developer SCS Software revealed in a blog post that it has already donated €20,000 to multiple unnamed charities, with more financial support to come “in the upcoming days and weeks.”
The studio has also dedicated part of its team to developing a Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack DLC for the game, and is “racing to bring [it] to the Steam Store as soon as possible.” 100% of the income from this pack will be donated to aid efforts.
PCGamesN notes that the next major DLC planned for Euro Truck Simulator was to be set in Russia. The blog post does not address whether these plans have changed.
SCS Software also added some detail on what it is doing to support team members from Ukraine, offering financial support for extra costs, extra days off and flexible working times, mental health support, and even the use of company property as accommodation.
Meanwhile, Necrosoft Games director Brandon Sheffield is organising an indie bundle to help raise further funds for two charities: International Medical Corps and Voices of Children. The bundle is being compiled on Itch.io, and developers have until the end of this week to submit their title.
The aim is to launch the bundle on Monday, March 7 and all money raised will be split equally between the charities. You can find more information on how to submit your game here.
Wargaming Kyiv has donated $1 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross, with its parent company sharing more about how it’s supporting more than 550 staff in the area.
The World of Tanks firm has arrange early salary payments, as well as additional funds to assist with travel and relocation, as well as providing alternative housing where possible. It is also helping employees’ families travel to neighbouring countries and arranging accommodation for them.
These efforts were revealed after the company confirmed it fired creative director Sergey Burkatovskiy following his pro-Russia social media posts.
Polish studio RedDeer Games has announced all profits from sales throughout March of its debut game, arcade puzzle title Cyber Protocol, will be donated to aid efforts. The developer will also be asked players to help choose the organisation that will receive the raised funds.
A pair of industry organizations have added their own voices, with TIGA and the IGDA both issuing statements today.
UK trade group TIGA called on the government to relax visa rules for Ukrainians, from allowing extended family members of UK residents to join them in the country to creating a new humanitarian visa route for those fleeing wars and persecution.
Meanwhile, the IGDA condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called on the games industry to similarly denounce the country’s actions.
“It is crucial for the game development community to come together and extend support for those impacted by the horrific violence from Russia’s military invasion,” the IGDA said before directing people to a variety of charity donation round-up stories and social media threads.
Update, March 2, 2022: Game studios continue to rally behind Ukraine.
State of Play announced that its earnings this week will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross. In a message shared on Twitter last week, the company said it stands “in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” with earnings from its games on iOS, Android and Steam going to the charity “to help those affected by this unjust war perpetrated by Russia.”
Similarly, Czech Republic-based studio Amanita Design said that this week’s earnings from its games Machinarium, Chuchel, and Creaks will be donated to Člověk v tísni (People in Need), a non profit organisation based in Prague that focuses on humanitarian relief.
Publisher Crytivo also announced that it will donate all profits from its store in February and March to the Ukrainian Red Cross.
“Our friends and family are being affected by this invasion and it hurts us to our core,” the company said on Twitter. “We will also be providing our employees in Ukraine paid leave until they can either get to safety or the situation improves enough to allow them to work in a safe environment.”
Polish studio Thing Trunk said yesterday on Steam that all income coming from the sale of its game Book of Demons will go to “NGOs that take care of refugees.”
“Here in Poland we still remember horrors of war from our grandparents’ stories,” the statement red. “Now we witness them at our doorstep. We support our neighbours from Ukraine in this dark time. Members of our team are privately driving to the border refugee camps every day and transporting mothers and children fleeing the war-ravaged country. It’s all not enough. There is a river, an ocean of people crossing the border every minute. Often with nothing more than a child or a cat cradled in their arms. This madness is hurting innocents, mothers, fathers, and gamers like us.”
The studio also increased the price of Book of Demons in Russia, to ₽6,666 (roughly $8,870) as “a temporary measure to bring attention to this statement.”
“This is a drastic measure, as we are aware that some of our greatest fans are from Russia, the country where love for the ARPG and the original Diablo is strong. Most of them probably are aghast with war crimes their government is committing on innocent Ukrainians. We know this might feel like punishment to some of them. Yet if this makes new players check our post for an explanation and thus allows us to be heard and reach those who are not aware of what the Russian government is really doing, then it will be worth it. We don’t blame regular Russians, we are all brothers and sisters. It is their government that is to blame. The price will remain increased until further notice.”
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