With the need for aid growing, gaming studios and content creators are working to bring much needed aid to the war in Ukraine, even through Twitch.
It is hard to deny that the struggle is only getting worse as Russia continues to push forward with its brutal assault on Ukraine. But as the armies move in, gaming studios and content creators are doing what they can to help the situation on the ground. From the need for food and supplies, to the urgent need for medical care as the situation keeps dragging on, there is more need than ever to help the people on the ground struggling with the situation.
Studios such as 11 Bit Studios, creators of This War of Mine, along with publishers like CD Projekt are working to donate to the cause. Even Wargaming, makers of World of Tanks, have donated $1,000,000 to the Ukrainian Red Cross. GSC Game World, the studio behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 took to Twitter to plead for support along with giving details of how people could donate to the help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Our country is forced to fight for existence again,” reads text accompanying videos of Ukraine from GSC Game World. “Seems like this is the price of freedom. Now we are striving to help our employees and their families survive. The game development shifted to the sidelines. But we will definitely continue. After the victory. Glory to Ukraine.”
Frogwares, makers of Sherlock Holmes and The Sinking City, also spoke out about the situation, describing how important this time is, and pleading for the world to step in and help. Even through all that, the team is working to bring games out and supporting the games they already have on the market, something astounding to imagine, especially with all that is going on.
Studios such as Bungie, Crytek, Ubisoft, and even The Pokémon Company have spoken out, taking a stance against the conflict, along with finding ways they can help aid the people that are currently facing very uncertain times in the days and weeks ahead.
Modiphius Entertainment, known for their tabletop miniatures and boardgames, also have made a stand on the situation with Chris and Rita Birch, founders of Modiphius Entertainment explaining “We are actively helping our Ukraine-based freelancers and customers, and as an immediate action, announce that from now until midnight PST on March 6th, all proceeds from sales of PDFs from the Modiphius webstores will be donated to front line humanitarian aid efforts. Meanwhile, we will also be exploring other ways in which we can help.”
Assemble entertainment will also be donating revenue contributions from their “Save the World” editions of its games on Steam, with founder and CEO Stefan Marcinek explaining, “We collectively decided to donate Save the World edition contributions collected during March to the Ukrainian Red Cross. We’re doing this with the hope of alleviating some of the suffering endured by the Ukrainian people as we look forward to a quick and peaceful resolution to the conflict.”
Beyond this, streamers and content creators are searching for ways to help, looking to bring awareness to the situation along with ways their watchers can donate to the cause. One such streamer, Kripparrian, has decided to do a charity stream on March 3rd at 10pm EST specifically to bring awareness, and support where it is needed.
“Both Rania (my wife and business partner) and I feel it is extremely important to support Ukraine through this crisis,” explained Kripparrian in a response to our question about the stream. “It is not just that crimes against humanity are taking place, but we also have friends who are currently in the war zone at this time. We have already donated ourselves, but we feel we can increase awareness about what is going on through a charity stream. There are no extravagant plans to promote our charity stream, we just wish to inform our viewers and give them a convenient way to help”.
Kripparrian will be using the Streamlabs Charity platform for the stream, making it easy for viewers to jump on and donate what they can afford. In addition to the donations made by the public, Streamlabs have offered to match all donations up to 100k USD, making there no better time to jump in and help if you can.
Gaming is a great way to bring people together, and with these and other moves, the industry is showing it can do good and bring help during a humanitarian crisis. For anyone looking to help the situation by donating, the Ukrainian Red Cross is on the ground looking to find aid for the people during this turbulent time. For anyone looking to join Kripparrian’s stream, you can follow him on Twitch or on this Twitter to hear about all his current and upcoming events.
