During this time, in which the Russian armed forces continue to invade Ukraine, there’s some comfort in the fact that the world stands alongside the Ukrainian people and the plight that the citizens are currently going through. With manybig tech companies now cutting business ties with Russia, such as EA, Intel, AMD, Take-Two, and Nvidia, there is a sense that the rest of the globe is not willing to take the invasion lying down. On top of that, many in the gaming industry are finding ways to donate to the cause, such as this latest bundle fromItch.io.
During the height of the pandemic back in 2020, indie gaming marketplace Itch.io revealed a bundle in aid ofthe Black Lives Matter movement, raising more than $8 million dollars for the cause. Now the site is offering up a similar deal, in which donators can get access to nearly 1,000 independent games for a minimum donation of just $10. All proceeds will go towards helping the people of Ukraine. At the time of writing, the current amount raised so far is almost $650,000 with still more than nine days left to get the bundle.
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TheRussian invasion of Ukraine has been condemnedby a number of nations and large companies. The conflict has been going on for more than a week and a half at this point, and as terrifying as it is, the sight of so many people and businesses banding together to try and help, monetarily or otherwise, shows the good in others. It also means that anyone who does decide to pay for and download the Itch.io bundle, that the money will be going to a good cause, and they will have the option of downloading a total of 991 games.
In terms of what the bundle comes with, there are a slew of independent releases, some of which are quite notable among the indie scene. Alongside the awesometime-bending polygonal FPSSuperhot, there’s also Extremely OK Games' highly-praised platformerCeleste, as well as the rather odd and creepy retro-lookingBaldi’s Basics Plus.
For anyone who wants to help donate, the $10 is just the minimum and people are welcome to offer more. And forDoomfans,John Romero has released aDoom 2map for $5, again with all the money going to help the Ukrainian people. While it is a terrifying time, especially for those living in Ukraine, there are things that gamers can do right now to try and help out, and theItch.iobundle is just one of them.
