Epic Games is using the new 'Fortnite' season launch to support Ukraine
Plenty of major players in the video game industry have stepped up to support Ukraine after Russian forces invaded back in February. But games these days don't get much bigger than Fortnite, especially when a new season is launching.
As the hit battle royale remained offline Sunday morning ahead of Chapter 3's second season launch, developer Epic Games announced its plans to support humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. All money earned in Fortnite between March 20, the day the new season kicks off, and April 3 will be split between four organizations that have been providing aid during the conflict.
In a corresponding move, Microsoft joined Epic in making the same pledge: Net profits from Fortnite sales on Xbox platforms will go to the same spread of charities.
You May Also Like
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Of the four charities Epic and Microsoft are supporting, three are led by the United Nations: U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), U.N. World Food Programme (UNWFP), and the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Fortnite's donations will also support Direct Relief, a U.S.-based nonprofit that, in their own words, is on a mission "to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay."
It's hard to say what two weeks worth of Fortnite profits amounts to in dollars, but it's likely not a small number. The game accounted for roughly $9 billion in revenue across 2018 and 2019, and Epic — which also licenses out one of the most widely used game development tool packages in the industry and operates the currently money-losing Epic Games Store — made $5.1 billion in 2020.
A new season launch is always the busiest time for Fortnite, with normal Item Store sales bolstered by committed players buying their seasonal Battle Passes. This new one also brings a number of exciting features and additions, including a Doctor Strange outfit that's unlockable via the Battle Pass and a "no build" mode, which turns off Fortnite's signature building mechanics in the battle royale game.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
It's worth noting that this isn't Epic's first move to support Ukraine. As the business world moved to isolate Russia financially shortly after the invasion began in late February, the Fortnite maker joined others in suspending its commercial activities in Russia.
Epic opted against cutting off all of its services there, however, noting in its announcement that "we’re not blocking access for the same reason other communication tools remain online: the free world should keep all lines of dialogue open."
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
