Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine. Together with the Fortnite community and @Xbox, we raised $144 million USD for @DirectRelief @UNICEF, @WFP, @Refugees and @WCKitchen. pic.twitter.com/lPAa8lmfJn— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 4, 2022
April 4 (UPI) -- Fortnite announced Monday that it has raised $144 million in humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
The online video game raised the $144 million over the past two weeks, March 20-April 3, during which developer Epic Games said it would donate all of its proceeds from the game to aid people in need due to the war in Ukraine. Microsoft also agreed to contribute net proceeds of all sales of Fortnite content.
Epic Games raised $36 million from the online game on the first day alone, The Verge reported.
The money raised will go toward organizations providing humanitarian aid to people devastated by the war in Ukraine, including clean water and food, medical aid, basic supplies, legal aid and shelter, according to Epic Games.
These humanitarian relief organizations include Direct Relief, which provides medical relief, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), U.N. World Food Programme, UNHCR -- The U.N. Refugee Agency, and World Central Kitchen.
"Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined us in supporting humanitarian relief efforts for people affected by the war in Ukraine," Fortnite tweeted Monday.
Other video game developers have also raised money for humanitarian relief for those affected by the war, including League of Legends developer Riot Games, which announced on Twitter last week it had raised $5.4 million for humanitarian aid in Eastern Europe.
Over 700 creators on the itch.io, a website for users to host, sell and download indie games, put together a bundle of almost 1,000 games that raised over $6 million in proceeds to support two charities for humanitarian relief in Ukraine. The charities included International Medical Corps, providing medical assistance to the region, and Voices of Children, a Ukrainian organization helping children cope with horror of war.
Humble Bundle, a digital storefront for video games, also put together a charity game bundle, which raised over $20 million for four organizations providing relief to Ukraine. The organizations included a charity that provides medical supplies to Ukraine, Razom, which means "together for Ukraine," the International Rescue Committee, which helps people displaced through humanitarian crises, International Medical Corps, and Direct Relief.
In the first five weeks of war, more than 4 million people have fled from Ukraine into neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, and many more have been displaced inside Ukraine.
