In the midst of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the director of Necrosoft Games Brandon Sheffield has spearheaded his own itch.io Bundle for Ukraine charity to aid those afflicted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sheffield asks fellow game developers to donate to their post on itch.io, platform that allows for games and non-games alike to share the profits from their projects directly to the donation. Currently, Sheffield would like the bundle to launch on Monday, March 7. Unless otherwise noted, the proceeds will be contributed 50/50 to the International Medical Corps and Voices of Children.
The gaming industry has reacted and been adamant in its support since February 24th marked the beginning of the invasion. Official accounts took to Twitter to call for Ukraine’s continued independence and/or make their own donations. Some of these donors include Poland-based 11 Bit Studios and CD Projekt Red as well as American-based game developer Bungie among many others across the globe.
Smaller independent game development studios such as Necrosoft Games also prove that they can rally behind the cause. At the time of this article’s release, the Bundle for Ukraine has 488 posts, most of which are submitted games in the form of an itch.io developer link. These will be published and submitted as part of the bundle by the deadline. The bundle does not only accept games but other paid projects/items as well, under the understanding that it is media-friendly.
Sheffield will also reach out to higher profile devs in his effort to “once again, show the world that video games can be force for good.” He urges anybody to share this donation bundle to spread the word in order for more developers to contribute and then eventually for the rest of the world to make a purchase once it launches. Similar to the Bundle for Palestinian Aid and the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, the Bundle for Ukraine will allow buyers to make the minimum donation or more and have access to a plethora of games or other listed non-game projects. These previous two bundles have seen huge success in either making close to the target donation or surpassing it by millions of dollars.
“As a side note, if you’re wondering why we’re involved, we were participants in the Bundle for Palestinian Aid and the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, and both of those bundles went very well. With some insight into the process and some volunteers behind us, we felt confident we could make this work,”
Says Sheffield on his itch.io post. Spreading awareness or donating to causes such as Necrosoft Games’ will assist the innocent lives that are at stake every day this tragic war ensues. More details about the Bundle for Ukraine can be found on Necrosoft Games’ itch.io discussion.