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Charity has made 2023 less difficult for many

2020 will definitely be remembered for a long time with a series of terrible natural disasters and a global lockdown due to the coronavirus. To support rescuers, doctors and volunteers, the gaming industry has held hundreds of fundraising events. Popular streamers, e-sports clubs and players have joined the fight against the elements and the pandemic.

At the beginning of the year, all the attention of the gaming community was riveted on Australia, where severe forest fires were raging. Overwatch and Apex Legends players are among the first asked developers to create skins, the proceeds from the sale of which were offered to be directed to the fight against the elements. Soon a similar item was released in PUBG – there started selling limited skins for a frying pan with the image of a koala and kangaroo. Bethesda and other developers arranged charity sales their games, and Nathan NBK Schmitt, Benjamin DrLupo Lupo, Tyler Ninja Blevins and other stars have raised funds through personal broadcasts.

Almost simultaneously with the fires, the coronavirus epidemic that began at the end of 2019 escalated, which quickly escalated into a pandemic. In response to this, representatives of the gaming community again launched charity streams, which raised tens of millions of dollars. Some organizations donated money directly to medical funds. So, the Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix donated almost $ 288 thousand for the purchase of medicines for victims in Wuhan, and the player T1 Lee Faker Sang Hyuk translated to Korean doctors $ 25 thousand from personal savings. Marathon speedrunners raised over $ 400 thousand Corona Relief Done Quick, while spectators and participants Summer Games Done Quick 2023 donated about $ 2.3 million to doctors. Individual actions were also held by cybersportsmen from the CIS, among whom was an ex-player Virtus.pro Emilzhanov Zayac Emilzhanov.

Publishers were also heavily involved in fundraising. Riot Games and co-founders Brandon Beck and Mark Merrill donated $ 1.5 million to fight the pandemic, CD Projekt RED translated to doctors almost a million dollars, and the game developers Plague Inc. sent to charity funds $ 250 thousand Nintendo donated thousands of respirators and masks to American hospitals, and the authors of Borderlands 3 donated special items to players who donated to the fight against the coronavirus. Charity tournaments like WeSave! Charity play, Gamers Without Borders, We fight corona, PCS Charity Showdown and events from FaZe Clan… When almost all major sports championships were suspended due to the lockdown, football players, hockey players, tennis players, racers and other professional athletes began to actively participate in such actions. Among them are Gareth Bale, Paulo Dybala, Daniil Medvedev, Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Ovechkin.

However, the charitable activities of cybersportsmen and streamers were not limited to the fight against coronavirus. After massive protests against police violence, many clubs actively supported the Black Lives Matter movement. For example, Cloud9, Team Liquid, Team SoloMid, FlyQuest and Fnatic donated the fund about $ 100 thousand, and the indie games store itch.io helped out from the sale of sets “For Racial Justice and Equality” more than $ 8.1 million, which he distributed between two charitable foundations that provide assistance to black residents of the United States.

Traditionally, many fundraising campaigns were held throughout the year for children’s hospitals and cancer centers… For example, Valve founder Gabe Newell listed $ 286,000 to Starship Children’s Health in New Zealand. The Fall Guys authors organized a special auction of unique skins, as a result of which raised a million dollars for the Special Effect organization – it helps gamers with disabilities. Another $ 76 thousand to the same fund translated Sea of ​​Thieves developers.

Speaking of auctions, it’s worth mentioning an OG fan who sold a chair JerAx for $ 5.8 thousand, and the money was sent to the international organization Save the Children. Head of CD Projekt RED Adam Badovski sold replica silver sword from The Witcher series to raise funds for the treatment of an 18-month-old child suffering from muscular atrophy.

This list of good deeds can be continued for a long time, which once again emphasizes the cohesion, nobility and social responsibility of the gaming community. Thanks to such charity events for many people around the world, this year was not as bad as it could have been.

Riot Games Held 2023 World Championship Despite Pandemic

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, almost all major events were canceled or postponed indefinitely. They were replaced by online leagues and championships divided by regions, and in such a situation, fans could only guess when the industry would be able to return to the big stage with live viewers.

Valve made it clear almost immediately that it was not ready to host major tournaments until the coronavirus issue was completely resolved. First she canceled the Dota 2 and CS: GO majors, and then reported transfer The International 2023 is a key tournament for the discipline. Many people thought that Riot Games will follow the same example, after all 2020 World Championship planned to be held in China – the country in which the epidemic began. Despite fans’ fears, League of Legends developers unexpectedly reportedthat they still want to hold a big tournament with live spectators in Shanghai, albeit in a slightly modified format.

Riot Games has taken great organizational risks to make the 2023 World Championship a model tournament in the face of the pandemic. The company not only agreed with the Shanghai government to lease the Pudong Stadium, but also raffled off 6,000 tickets among most loyal fans and adopted a number preventive measures to comply safety rules at a mass event. For example, Riot Games brought all participants to Shanghai in advance and regularly tested them for coronavirus. At the hotel, the players were provided with all the conditions for a comfortable stay and training so that they did not have to go out into the city. In addition, the organizers brought reserve teams to the tournament – they could act as an emergency replacement in case of illness of other participants. In this status, players Gambit Esports spent almost a month in Shanghai, for which got part of the prize fund from the organizers. Of all the regions that usually participate in World Championship matches, only teams from Vietnam could not come to Shanghai – they were Riot Games also paid compensation…