No sane mind would term these times as ordinary times. These are no ordinary times, and they have called for desperate measures. However, the same could not be said about the gaming community, who has coped up pretty good with these difficult times. Gamers have all geared up to make the best use of this isolation period. Steam servers remain a witness to the gamers’ enthusiasm, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, recording over twenty million players in the month of March. Well, we cannot be blamed, we are meant to be an indoor generation, and the recent viral outbreak has provided us with a reason to stay indoors! With that much influence at hand, the gaming industry has stepped forward to help fight against the Corona outbreak. Following is a list of companies associated with the gaming industry that have provided financial aid for the cause.

343 Industries

343 Industries, known for Halo, have recently announced a new DLC that goes by the name of Relief and Recovery DLC pack, to collect funds for fighting COVID-19. Not just this, but the studio has also invested some time in designing some T-shirts based on a specific game theme. The T-shirts are expected to hit the stores soon, and the money earned through their sales will be donated.

Bungie

Another child of the Xbox Game Studios, known for Destiny, Bungie has started a Guardian Heart fundraiser. This fundraiser allows a player to give a donation within the gameplay.

CCP Games

Even before the COVID-19 was real, CCP games had introduced a currency that could be used within the game, known as Plex. Plex is donated by the players during their gameplay of Eve Online, and after being converted to a real-time currency, Plex is donated for the cause of fighting COVID-19.

CD Projekt

CD Project is a Polish game developing company and they have been upmost in their efforts to fight against COVID-19, in their native country. CD Projekt has donated a handsome amount to the charity organization in native Poland

The Coalition

The Coalition has chosen a smart path and instead of donating money, they have decided to donate Xbox One consoles to be installed in the children wards in hospitals of the United States. About two hundred hospitals will be receiving the hardware.

Electronic Arts

The EA studios have not only given donation to fight the spreading pandemic, but they have also distributed food amongst the needy of the US, Canada, and Sweden.

Humble bundle

The Humble Bundle has produced a bundle! In that bundle, the studio will be donating games along with digital and audiobooks for the affected.

I Got Games

Nor will the IGG studio only provide monetary aid to help fight against COVID-19, but they have also dispatched several medical supplies, which include masks and gloves.

Jacksepticeye

Not only are the multimillion-dollar gaming industries contributing to fight against Covi-19, but individuals like the Irish YouTuber, Seán Jacksepticeye, have also stepped up to help in the cause. Jacksepticeye, broadcasted a live stream for a whole day, and all the earnings made from that live stream went to the charity.

Jagex

the UK based, video game development studio, has put its focus into the secondary industries that have been fighting against COVID-19. The studio will be providing money to the mental health facilities to help in keeping the population mentally healthy during this period of social distancing and isolation.

Luckbox

Luckbox has donated money to CEPI and GlobalGiving. To raise the funds, they organized a Dota 2 tournament. The tournament consisted of twenty-four teams and has raised a sufficient amount of funds.

MAG Interactive

MAG Interactive will be utilizing its biggest mobile application, QuizDuel, to help generate funds. The company donated all of the earning from the application to the World Health Organization on the 10th of April. Not only this, but they have also added several quizzes, regarding the COVID-19, to the app.

PlayStation



PlayStation has devised a slightly different strategy and have tried to make the period of social distancing a little bit more interesting. PlayStation has provided its users with free games on its online store, including the Uncharted.

Let’s Talk Numbers



Down below is a summary of donations made by some prominent names in the gaming industry.

Industry Donation (dollars) 343 Industries 200,000 Bungie 350,000 CCP Games – CD Projekt 950,000 The Coalition – Electronic Arts 2,000,000 Gfinity – Humble Bundle – I Got Games 500,000 Jacksepticeye 660,000 Jagex 124,670 Luckbox 200,000 MAG Interactive – – – – – PlayStation 100,000,000

Gaming to the Rescue

Gaming has emerged as a huge e-sports in the recent times and has earned quite a repute amongst the youngsters and other world population. To finish the article, let me quote that, “with great power, comes great responsibility”. A number of industries, that are associated with gaming, have picked up their weapons to bring down this mighty villain that has started engulfing the world!