The developer said on Sunday that all proceeds from the battle royale game Fortnight obtained between March 20 to April 3 would be donated to multiple humanitarian organizations.
Epic Games made the announcement ahead of the release of Fortnite Chapter 3 Season 2, called “Resistance.”
According to Epic Games website, the proceeds will be donated to Direct Relief, United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF), United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) and The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The organizations have worked to deliver aid and assistance in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade the country last month.
Purchases that will go towards the Ukraine support effort include V-Buck packs, Fortnite Crew, gifted Battle Passes and cosmetic packs such as the Voidlander Pack, the developer said.
A spokesperson for the developer said: “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.
The company said players would not be able to choose which of the organizations will receive their money and that purchases made during the time period will not be considered tax-deductible.
Epic Games added Microsoft would also contribute net proceeds from all sales of Fortnite content on the Microsoft Store in all countries where the game is sold during the same time period.
After the developer shared its release on its Twitter profile, the overwhelming majority of those commenting about the post were positive about the company’s decision.
Data and marketplace analysis website Business of Apps reported that Fortnite made $5.1 billion in 2020.
This means two weeks’ worth of proceeds could be as high as around $200 million.
Newsweek has contacted the humanitarian relief organizations mentioned above for comment.
A UNHCR spokesperson told Newsweek: “The situation for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine is dire. They are being killed, injured, traumatized, and forced to flee their homes.
“Many people remain trapped in areas of escalating conflict and, with essential services disrupted, are unable to meet their basic needs including food, water, and medicines.
“The pace and magnitude of the internal displacement and refugee exodus from Ukraine, as well as resulting humanitarian needs, will only increase if the situation continues to deteriorate.
“UNHCR is doing everything it possibly can to respond to urgent needs, including providing access to emergency relief items, psychosocial support, and essential needs like shelter and cash assistance.
“Our Office has scaled up its presence and operations in central and western Ukraine, where conditions enable more humanitarian access, and where needs are also growing as people evacuate to the west and onwards and become internally displaced.
“We are also coordinating with the local authorities in neighboring countries to improve the reception conditions at the international border crossing points where people are waiting in line for hours.
“At global level, UNHCR relies on contributions from the private sector to deliver our life-saving work and advance the rights of people forced to flee worldwide.
“The contribution from Epic Games will help us and other UN agencies, including WFP and UNICEF, to reach many more families with life-saving support.
“Epic Games’ contribution to UNHCR does not reflect an endorsement of Epic Games or any of their products.”
Fortnite is an incredibly popular game where players fight against dozens of others in order to win.
While not its only game mode, the Battle Royale feature sees players land on an island where they seek one another out in a bid to eliminate them from the game.
Other game modes also include Party Royale, which focuses on other activities such as live concerts from real-world artists and Save The World where players fight back hordes of monsters.
