On the same day Epic has launched Fortnite Season 2, the developer-publisher and Xbox have announced a two-week joint commitment to donate all proceeds from the game’s real-money purchases to major charities helping those affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Between March 20 and April 3, all in-game purchases made with real money for things like V-Bucks, battle passes, Crew subscriptions, and more will go directly to major relief funds actively working to aid both refugees and those still in Ukraine. The charities involved include Direct Relief, UNICEF, UNWFP, and UNHCR. More organizations will be added in the coming weeks, added Epic.
“They are on the ground providing emergency aid, including health support, food and clean water, essential supplies, legal aid, and shelter[…]We’re not waiting for the actual funds to come in from our platform and payment partners, which can take a while depending on how the transaction was processed. As transactions are reported, we’ll log them and send the funds to the humanitarian relief organizations within days.”
Xbox will do just as Epic is doing and donate all of its own Fortnite real-money net proceeds to the same groups.
Given that Fortnite has launched a new season today just as this initiative has kicked off, the bottom line is likely to be much greater than most–if not all–other days in a Fortnite seasonal calendar. Epic added that there are no exceptions, and even things like Crew subscriptions that are re-upped for a new month within this window will count toward the eventual final tally.
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