Fortnite developer raises $144 MILLION for Ukraine

Epic Games, the developer of the hugely successful video game Fortnite, has revealed it’s raised $144 million (£109.5 million) for Ukraine. 

In conjunction with Microsoft’s Xbox, the firm had pledged to donate all of its proceeds from the game to Ukraine relief efforts for two weeks, starting March 20. 

The total will fund humanitarian relief efforts led by several charities to help Ukrainian people affected by the ongoing war with Russia, Epic Games said. 

These charities include UNICEF, Direct Relief, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme. 

Fornite’s Twitter page posted: ‘Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine.

‘Together with the Fortnite community and Xbox, we raised $144m for Direct Relief, Unicef, UN World Food Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and World Central Kitchen in support of their humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine.’  

Fortnite is an online game centred on a virtual world where users must survive by searching for weapons and resources while eliminating competitors. 

It’s free to play, although gamers can purchase exclusive in-game items online to enhance the experience.  

Epic Games – which is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina – announced the fundraising effort on March 20, the same day it released a new season of Fortnite Battle Royale (Chapter 3 Season 2). 

Epic’s fundraising effort raised an impressive $36 million (£27.3 million) in the first 24 hours alone, it announced a day later.

The fundraising window closed on April 3, shortly before Fortnite’s Twitter page revealed the grand total.  

Epic announced the fundraising effort on March 20, the same day it released a new season of Fortnite Battle Royale (Chapter 3 Season 2).

Fortnite is a battle royale-style survival shooter where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island. 

It is one of the most popular video games in the world, with millions of players taking part in its last-player-standing matches. 

The game allows up to 100 players to fight individually or as part of a team to be the last standing on a virtual battlefield, known as a map. 

New season updates have traditionally taken place every few months, and are often notable moments and even interactive experiences for players. 

Large-scale events take place inside the game – regularly watched by millions – to mark the transition to a new season. 

New seasons within each chapter usually give Epic developers the chance to change elements of the map, replacing some areas or updating them. 

As the Verge points out, the launch of a new Fortnite season is likely one of the most lucrative periods for the game, so the fundraising window was well-timed. 

Epic’s donation follows Humble Bundle – a firm that sells video game bundles online – raising $20 million (£15.2 million) for Ukraine relief efforts last month. 

Meanwhile, Itch.io, a website for users to host, sell and download indie games, raised $6.3 million for a bundle featuring almost 1,000 digital items. 

In the wider tech industry, Revolut, a London fintech firm, announced that it has waived transfer fees for sending money to Ukrainian bank accounts.

Near the start of the war, Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, said he would 1 billion yen (£6.1 million) to the Ukrainian government for humanitarian assistance.  

WHAT IS FORTNITE? THE FREE TO PLAY GAME LAUNCHED IN 2017 AND HAS TAKEN THE WORLD BY STORM

Fortnite is a game that originally launched as a disk back in July 2017 and was then turned into a free-to-download game by its developer, Epic Games, in September. 

There are three forms of the game: ‘Battle Royale’, ‘Save The World’ and ‘Playground’.

Save the world is the original form of the game and is currently not available to play as part of the free-to-download game, instead it comes as part of a £30 ($40) extra. 

It is a co-op mode with a story that’s playable solo or online with friends.

Fortnite is a battle royale-style survival shooter where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island 

Users compete in teams of up to three to complete a variety of missions. 

It is rumoured that the game will be added to the free-to-play version of the game in the future. 

Whilst Save The World may be the original version of the game, its sister mode is by far the most popular. 

Battle Royale is a game of survival where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island.

Each game, or ‘match’ as each competition is known, starts with 100 players.

The aim of the game is to be the last one standing. Users can form allegiances and play in small groups.

To enable this and the interactive experience, the game allows completely open communication between players. 

Inspired by the Hunger Games novels and films, gamers search for weapons to help them survive. 

Armed with quirky weapons and amusing dances, the game has swept across the gaming world, with children flocking to it.  

While there is no exact figure on how many children play Fortnite, the game has so far pulled in an audience of over 125 million players. 

Playground is the latest addition to the game and is a consequence free mode with more loot and unlimited respawning to allow players to get creative.

It involved groups of up to four people working as a team and the players can hone their skills as the practise in advance of entering Battle Royale where they will face better players.