a new season of fortnite Launching today, developer Epic will donate all of its proceeds from the first two weeks to Ukraine-related humanitarian efforts. The action will run from March 20 to April 3, and will include all “real-money purchases” in the game, meaning purchased V-bucks, memberships, gifted battle passes, and some cosmetic packs. (Epic notes that “Using V-Bucks fortnite will not be included as they are not real money purchases.) This will also include retail gift card purchases, as long as they are redeemed during the two-week period.
As part of the effort, Microsoft will also “commit to its net income”. fortnite In the meantime, so that we can get more help to the people of Ukraine.” Funds will be donated to a few different organizations, including Direct Relief, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Program. The developer says it will add more supported organizations “in the coming weeks.”
Epic says it is sending funds to these organizations “as quickly as possible. We are not waiting for actual funds to come in from our platform and payment partners, which could take some time depending on the transaction process.” As soon as transactions are reported, we will log them and remit funds to humanitarian relief organizations within a few days.”
The news comes as other gaming-related efforts have managed to raise millions of dollars for humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A bundle of indie games on Itch.io raised more than $6 million earlier this month, and the Ukraine-focused Humble Bundle has already crossed $9 million.
new season of fortnite Today begins later, and follows a dramatic event that began a new chapter last December.
