Fortnite raises $144M for Ukraine
Fortnite’s fundraising period for the Ukrainian rescue is over, with the battle royale game raising a staggering $144 million in two weeks.The total final proceeds will be distributed among the five humanitarian organizations currently operating in Ukraine, namely UNICEF, immediate relief, world food program, World Central Kitchenand UNHCR.
Epic Games originally announced the fundraiser on March 20, saying that all profits from in-game sales for two weeks would go to humanitarian relief in Ukraine. Xbox also joined the fundraiser, earning its own proceeds from Fortnite in the meantime. Epic announced the final total via a tweet on the official Fortnite Twitter account:
We express our deepest gratitude to all who have joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for those affected by the war in Ukraine. Together with the Fortnite community and @Xbox, we raised $144M for @DirectRelief @UNICEF, @WFP, @Refugees and @WCKitchen. pic.twitter.com/lPAa8lmfJnApril 4, 2022
The event coincides with the launch of Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2, during which in-game purchases will be at their peak. The funds raised made Epic one of the largest corporate donors, if not the largest direct donor, to humanitarian efforts in the Russia-Ukrainian war. It’s hard to quantify exactly where Epic’s contribution is, but the amount is equivalent to that of the entire country. For background, according to this tracking list of donations to Ukraine, the Czech Republic donated $66 million in aid to Ukrainian refugees, and an additional $13.2 million in humanitarian aid to civilians still in Ukraine (these figures do not include the Czech Republic contribution to military aid) ).
In short, put a lot of money into a very worthy cause.In its latest situation reportUNICEF said that as of March 31, an estimated 4 million people had fled the Russian attack on Ukraine to flee to other countries, while another 6.5 million were internally displaced in Ukraine.