Bandai Namco, the publisher of games like Elden Ring outside of Japan, has announced it will donate £650,000 (100million Yen) to help humanitarian organisations in Ukraine.
The announcement was shared in a tweet from Bandai Namco, which said: “The Bandai Namco Group has decided to make a donation of 100million yen to Save The Children in support of their humanitarian cause for people affected by the crisis in Ukraine and seeking refuge outside the country. We hope that the people and communities affected by this crisis will be able to return to peaceful days as soon as possible.”
However, Bandai Namco stopped short of condemning Russia’s actions and will not be taking the same steps as other publishers, such as halting the sale of Elden Ring in Russia. This includes Microsoft, which has suspended all product sales in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. PlayStation also pulled Gran Turismo 7 from sale in Russia the day it launched.
— Bandai Namco US (@BandaiNamcoUS) March 11, 2022
Bandai Namco joins other game companies that have made donations to the humanitarian organisations working to assist during the crisis. Poland-based CD Projekt Red, the developer of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3, donated £181,000 to Polska Akcja Humanitarna, a humanitarian organisation based in Poland where many Ukrainian refugees have fled to.
Game developers have also formed a Bundle For Ukraine. The collection of games will donate all of its proceeds to two charities providing support in Ukraine. These are Voices Of Children and International Medical Corps. As of the time of writing, the bundle has raised £3,689,558 ($4,810,630 of a $5million goal).
In other news, indie studio Dolphin Barn has been review bombed after including anti-mask sentiment in its latest patch notes. After the notes received a negative response, the developer took to Twitter, continuing the argument.
