The proceeds will go to several humanitarian aid organizations

Epic has revealed the total amount raised from its two-week charity efforts. Fortnite proceeds have raised $144 million USD in total for humanitarian reli?ef efforts for people affected by war in Ukraine.

For two weeks, Epic and Xbox committed all Fortnite proceeds towards relief efforts. It started on March 20 and within a single day had already raised $36 million. This morning, the day after the charity efforts concluded, Epic confirmed the total amount at $144 million.

The contributions will? go towards Direct Relief, UNICEF, UN World Food Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the World Central Kitchen.

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Fortnite has been a hot topic too, thanks to the temporary removal of building. Alongside a host of new cosmetics, including Marvel's Dr. Strange, Fortnite removed the ability to build for a short time during this season. It's back now, though those that enjoyed the new way to play can still ditch the blueprints in Zero Build mode.

The $144 million raised in Fortnite for Ukraine came from??? all real-money purchases, including V-Buck packs, gifted Battle Passes, and cosmetics. Funds were set to be logged and sent to relief organizations as they came in as well.

Other companies have also been supporting efforts in Ukraine. Both Humble Bundle and a large number of indie developers on Itch put together charit??y bundles to raise funds for aid in the region?.

Publishers like Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and CD Projekt have halted sales of their products in Russia and Belarus as well. And this morning, World of Tanks studio Wargaming announced it is leaving both Russia and Belarus, handing operations of its very popular live service games over to a loc??al studio.

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Wargaming has transferred operations in those areas to another studio

Major war sim developer ?Wargaming has announced it's backing out of two major areas. Wargaming says it will not own or operate any businesses in Russia or Belarus, and is leaving both countries.

In a statement posted on Wargaming's site, the studio says it's been conducting a "strategic revi??ew of business operations worldwide," and decided to leave both Russia and Belarus. As of March 31, the company has handed management of its live games for those regions over to local management in Lesta Studio—a studio no longer affiliated with Wargaming. During the transition period, the live games will remain available in those regions, operated by their new owner.

The studio behind World of Tanks and World of Warships says it will not profit from this process. According to the statement, Wargaming expects t?o "suff??er substantial losses" as a result of this decision.

Wargaming will also be closing its studio in Minsk, Belaru?s. The developer says it will be providing "as much severance and support as possible" to employees affected by the change.

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Support for Ukraine

Though the statement doesn't specify a reason, Wargaming has supported humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and its employees affected by the invasion. The World of Tanks studio recently fired creative director Sergey Burkatovskiy over posts he made, supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The studio told PC Gamer that his personal opini?ons categorically did not reflect the position of the company. Additionally, Wargaming made a significant donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

Many game development publishers and studios have spoken up about the invasion, as it has affected international colleagues and friends alike. Developers have assembled charity bundles. And big names, like CD Projekt, Electronic Arts, and Microsoft, have halted sales in the region.

Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov had previously called on studios like Wargaming to close its offices in Russia. Leaving the region behind is huge for Wargaming, as games like World of Tanks have been incredibly popular in Russia. It's certainly a s??tateme??nt for the studio to leave it.

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Another bundle to bolster humanitarian aid for Ukraine

A new bundle is live to aid efforts in Ukraine, with this one crafted by the bundle makers at Humble. The Humble Stand With Ukraine bundle has over 120 pieces?? of content,?? from games to books and more. 100% of proceeds are going towards humanitarian relief efforts.

"The violent and unlawful invasion in Ukraine is taking a tragic toll—displacing people, devastating families?, and creating an urgent need for food, water, supplies, shelter, and safety," said Humble on the la??nding page.

Included in this bundle are some pretty notable games, from indies to major publishers. It's not just video games, though. Fantasy roleplaying books for Pathfinder and Warhammer are in, as?? well as game dev assets, comics, and a one-year subscription to GameMaker Studio 2 Creator. The over 120 pieces of content are worth over $2500??. The full bundle is obtainable at the $40 mark.

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Proceeds will go towards Razom for Ukraine, the International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps, and Direct Relief. These organizations are helping with relief efforts for the people of Ukraine, amid the invasion of Russian forces.

Notable games in the bundle include:

• Metro Exodus
• Back 4 Blood
• Satisfactory
• This War of Mine
• Kerbal Space Program
• Skullgirls 2nd Encore
• The Amnesia trilogy
• SUPERHOT
• Drawful 2
• Going Under

An??d many, many more. It's a seriously stacked lineup, and those are only the games. As of this writing, the Humble bundle has already raised over $100,000 for Ukraine.

Other industry efforts have sprung up to bolster humanitarian aid in Ukraine as well. Several developers have contributed sales and proceeds to charity, and a bundle went live on Itch last week with a veritable flood of indie games.

If you'd like to contribute, you can find the Humble Stand With Ukraine bundle here.

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This includes the GOG distribution platform as well

Over the last week, game developers and publishers have been putting support behind Ukraine amid its invasion by Russia. Today, publisher CD Projekt took a significant step. CD Pro?jekt will suspend digital sales and physical stock deliveries of its products to Russia and Belarus.

This includes distribution of games on the GOG platform, which GOG owns and operates. In a statement, CD Projekt put its support behind Ukraine.

"While we are not a political entity capable of directly influencing of?? state matters, and don't aspire to be one, we do believe that commercial entities, when united, have the power to inspire global change in the hearts and minds of ordinary people," reads the statement. "We know that players in Russia and Belarus, individuals who have nothing to d??o with the invasion of Ukraine, will be impacted by this decision, but with this action we wish to further galvanize the global community to speak about what is going on in the heart of Europe."

The publisher recently launched the next-gen versions of Cyberpunk 2077, and also runs the online store GOG.

Bloober Team, creators of The Medium and other horror games, have also pulled all their games from digital stores in Russia and Bela??rus, starting with Steam.

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Game developers have been showing their su??pport for Ukraine from around the world. Statements backing the people of Ukraine and donations to humanitarian aid have? been steadily flowing in. Now, it seems like publis??hers are taking even firmer stances on the matter.

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The squads are leaving the sports games in response to the invasion of Ukraine

Electronic Arts says it will remove Russian teams from several FIFA games, as well as its NHL series. The national team and all Russian clubs will be removed from FIFA 22, Mobile, and Online, and NHL 22.

This lines up its partners FIFA and UEFA's recent decision to suspend all Russian clubs and national teams from competition. EA says it is also "actively evaluating" other related changes to other areas of its games. The IIHF also announced a similar ruling over Russian and Belarusian teams.

These moves are in response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. "EA Sports stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and like so many voices across the world of football, calls for peace and an end to the invasion of Ukraine," reads today's statement.

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EA is now one of several tech companies who have al??tered their services in response to the invasion.

The games industry has been issuing responses on the matter throughout the week as well. Several game studios in Ukraine have spoken on the matter, and m??any studios and publishers are calling for humanitarian ?support and offering donations, through game sales and their own contributions.

This isn't the first time EA Sports games have had to respond to real-world issues. In 2020, the Washington NFL team name was updated to a generic one in Madden NFL 21. And last year, Madden replaced Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden with a generic likeness over reports on remarks he'd made.

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Industry figures are supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia's actions

This week, the Russian military invaded Ukraine, as part of what Russian president Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation." The invasion and missile strikes have resulted in the displacement and death o??f Ukrainian troops an?d citizens.

Over the last couple of days, games industry figures, studios, and publishers have been putting their support out for Ukraine. This has included both Ukrainian developers like Frogwares and GSC Game World issuing statements on the invasion, and companies across the world calling for s?upport.

GSC Game World, the studio behind the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, shared a special aid account and called on "all of our colleagues in the gaming industry" to share their post. 4A Games, makers of the Metro series of games shared a statement and call for support as well.

"We can't just stand by," Frogwares said on its Twitter account. "Russia attacks our homeland and denies the sovereignty of Ukraine. We are trying?? to stay safe, b?ut this is war, there are no two ways about it. We call on everyone to force Putin to withdraw from our lands."

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Esports organization Natus Vincere, a.k.a. Navi, is based out of Ukraine and also put out a statement and shared a donation link. Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, a Ukrainian player for Natus Vincere's CS:GO team, gave a speech at IEM Katowice calling for peace and solidarity.

Publishers like Crytivo and tinyBuild are also offering help for their Ukrainian employees and partners to get to safety themselves. Esports organization Team Liquid has also opened up housing support for friends and colleagues who are st??uck and ??unable to get home.

Developers and publishers have amped up calls for support as well. Polish dev 11 bit studios announced that all profits over the coming week from This War of Mine, on all stores and platforms, will go to a special fund for the Ukrainian Red Cross to d??irectly support v?ictims of war.

Amanita Design is donating its next weeks' earnings from Machinarium, CHUCHEL, and Creaks to a nonprofit organization aiding those affected by the invasion. And State of Play will be donating its next weeks' earnings f??rom its games to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

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After Bungie CEO Pete Parsons tweeted in support of Ukraine, Bungie announced it is donating 100% of the first 48 hours of its Game2Give drive to aid humanitarian efforts. Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red announced it is donating 1 million PLN to humanitarian aid efforts. Publisher Raw Fury is donating to the Ukrainian Red Cross. And a bundle is currently being put together by developer Brandon Sheffield, with a 50/50 split for Ukrainian support ??and support for trans ??youth in Texas.

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