This gaming bundle will help raise money in support of racial equality!
As nationwide protests in the "Black Lives Matter" movement continue, many big players in the gaming industry have made statements—like Sony and Xbox, CD Projekt RED, and Activision Blizzard. But a small PC game storefront for independent and experimental games, Itch.io, has mustered one of the biggest fundraisers in support of racial equality.
Itch.io, which is run by only six employees, created the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality and committed all proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund. Almost $5 million have been raised so far, and game developers continue to donate their games to the sale and gamers keep buying the bundle.
"Oxenfree" developed by and courtesy Night School Studio.
“I saw a lot of companies issuing statements, which is great, but I think it’s extremely important to look for ways to be impactful while something so terrible is going on,” said Leaf Corcoran, the creator of Itch.io.
The sale ends on Monday, June 15.
The Bundle
"We [have] maybe published one of the greatest deals in gaming history," said Corcoran. Polygon calls it the "best video game bundle we've ever seen". Over $3,400 of paid works are available as pay-what-you-want, with a minimum donation amount of $5. Upon payment, the store directs you to direct links to download and stores your purchases in a digital library (no Steam codes are given).
"Far From Noise" developed by and courtesy George Batchelor.
It's an intimidating number of games. Fans of indie games will recognize critically-acclaimed titles like Night in The Woods, Overland, Minit, Oxenfree, and Super Hexagon. PC Gamer lists their favorites in the bundle like A Short Hike, Night of the Consumers, Far From Noise, and A Mortician's Tale. In general, games hosted on Itch.io come from a variety of backgrounds and entertain experimental concepts, gameplay, and ideas that you won't find in big studio releases. If you're looking to get off the beaten path in what you play, this is a great chance.
There are also tons of user-made bundles highlighting black game developers that you can check out here.
Do you have any interest in picking up the bundle? Leave a comment!
