Set for Ukraine, the itch started a massive collection of nearly a thousand games designed to raise funds for two humanitarian organizations helping civilians in a war-torn country. Donations start at $10, and in return, you get a dizzying number of games. 991 to be exact—honestly, more than you can probably ever play. Some highlights in the bundle include the brilliant retro-styled JRPG CrossCode. The dark roguelike Gonner, and the hilarious musical adventure game Wandersong. But you’ll also get big hits like Celeste, Towerfall Ascension, Superhot, Baba Is You. And A Short Hike, to name a few.
Necrosoft Games
The package was initiated by Necrosoft Games last week, the studio responsible for Gunhouse, Oh Deer! and the upcoming Hyper Gunsport. Since then, more than 700 authors have joined an initiative that will split all proceeds between the International Medical Corps. A medical aid organization, and Children’s Voices, a Ukrainian organization that “helps children cope with the horrors of war, post-traumatic stress disorder, go back to school and become children.”
The minimum donation is $10, which is cheap for such a vast set of games. You usually pay more just for Superhot, for example. At the same time, according to the package page, “we strongly encourage you to pay more than the minimum if you can afford it,” which some people have certainly done: the most significant donation at the time of writing is $500.
As I write this – just hours after launch – the package has raised over $45,000 to reach its $1 million goals. At this rate, it will likely exceed that target before the box is completed in 10 days. And could very well go the same heights as last year—recruitment for Racial Justice and Equality which amounted to 8.2 million dollars.
After it invaded Ukraine on February 24, many game companies pulled out of Russia. And most major publishers, including Take-Two, Ubisoft, Activision, Electronic Arts, and Epic Games, suspended new sales.
