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Instagram users can now host group fundraisers
Asking everyone's followers to donate could mean more money for nonprofits.
Instagram is testing personal fundraisers in the US, UK and Ireland
The feature will be available on Android at first, and iOS later.
Games Done Quickly's stream for COVID-19 relief has begun
Today through April 19th, you can tune into Games Done Quickly’s (GDQ) streamed COVID-19 charity event to watch some of the fastest speedrunners in the world race through new and classic games and raise money for the coronavirus pandemic. The event, Corona Relief Done Quick (CRDQ), kicks off at 12PM ET, and 100 percent of donations will go to Direct Relief, which helps provide medical supplies to those in need. Earlier this year, a similar GDQ event raised more than $3 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, so we can expect this to be a significant fundraiser for COVID-19 relief.
Late-night hosts will help stream a COVID-19 benefit concert on April 18th
On April 18th, late night hosts and celebrities will participate in One World: Together At Home, a virtual benefit concert to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Bandsintown will help artists promote livestreams
As musicians cancel concerts due to the coronavirus, bands like the Dropkick Murphys are turning to livestreams as a way to connect with fans and potentially recoup some of the money they're losing. Today, the concert-discovery app Bandsintown announced a new Watch Live feature that will let artists send push notifications when they livestream shows. Bandsintown is also launching its own Twitch channel.
'Desert Bus' video game charity has raised nearly $80,000
Each year a group of selfless volunteers agrees to play what some call the world's most boring video game for hours on end in an attempt to raise money for the Child's Play hospital charity. Now in its 13th year, the Desert Bus for Hope fundraiser kicked off today. In its first five hours, it has raised nearly $80,000.
Facebook opens up donations for personal needs
Last year, Facebook announced a tool to help you create fundraisers for 501c3 nonprofits verified by the company. The social network even extended those donations to live videos. Today, Facebook is giving you the chance to raise money for causes that hit a little closer to home. With what it's calling personal fundraisers, the company will allow you to accept donations to cover expenses for education, medical, pet medical, crisis relief, personal emergency and a funeral or loss.
Facebook is testing a new set of tools for nonprofits
Facebook wants to make it easier for nonprofits to collect donations and spread awareness of their causes. The social media giant recently announced that it's testing a new feature called "fundraisers", a dedicated channel found on a nonprofit's Facebook page. It lets charities tell their story, gather supporters, collect donations and track progress all from the one place. People who want to help can give money and share the nonprofit's information with their friends, with the existing Donate button included in each shared post, meaning folks don't have to leave their News Feed in order to support a cause. The button is also going to appear at the top of Pages, giving nonprofits more opportunity to raise money. These new features are currently being tested with 37 partner organizations and should expand to others "in the future".
GOG.com members raised $1.9 million during 2013 charity event
Digital distributor Good Old Games announced that it raised $1.9 million for the World Wildlife Fund, Worldbuilders, and Gaming for Good during last year's Charity Promo, an event that offered a lineup of standout indie games in return for charitable donations. Ten studios took part in the promotion, waiving their cut of royalties for games sold during the fundraiser. During the course of the event, buyers received digital copies of three featured games after donating $5 or more to one of GOG's three chosen charities. Participants included Introversion, Subset Games, Tiger Style Games, Amanita Design, Instant Kingdom, Northway Games, Digital Game Factory, Might & Delight, Daedalic, and Oddworld.
Help Blizzard Software Engineer Ron Nakada beat cancer
Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are so many people working behind the scenes on that game we all love to play. Ron Nakada, Senior Software Engineer at Blizzard Entertainment, was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer six months ago. He's been working for Blizzard Entertainment for five years on World of Warcraft and other Blizzard titles. While Nakada is currently fighting for his life, bills are piling up -- and because of this, his best friend Jon Alvarado has put together a fundraiser to help him pay expenses that weren't covered by short-term disability insurance that recently ended. It'll be some time before his long-term disability insurance kicks in, and until then his family is out of luck. 100% of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Nakada and his family to help pay medical bills and keep utilities running over the holidays and beyond. For more information on Ron, as well as information on making donations, Alvarado's fundraiser page on YouCaring has all the details.
Life is Feudal begins Indiegogo campaign
Promising to deliver "realistic medieval" MMO, game developers from Russia are seeking crowdfunding to push hardcore sandbox Life is Feudal over the finish line. Bitbox has been working on Life is Feudal for over three years but recently decided that an Indiegogo campaign was needed to further finance the title to the tune of €200,000. "We have reached a point where additional external funding is required for us to complete the development and release our game, and we spent many nights and days weighing our options," the devs wrote on the campaign page. The project page has a good summary of this ambitious title's selling points, including a 441-square-kilometer seamless world, full terraforming, a rich crafting system, a no-target combat system, and the ability to track and hunt wild animals. We recently saw a trailer for Life is Feudal showing some of its potential. The game will be free-to-play with an alpha starting soon after the fundraising campaign if the money is raised. [Thanks to Alessio for the tip!]
Extra Life fundraising marathon begins tomorrow
It's once again time for gamers from around the world to come together for a cause with the annual Extra Life charity event. Every year, thousands of gamers commit themselves to playing video games for a whopping 24 hours straight from 8 a.m. November 2nd until 8 a.m. November 3rd. Participants are asked to raise money through their marathons by soliciting donations from family, friends, or even livestream viewers. In the end, all of the cash raised over the course of the event goes to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, where it's used to provide hospital treatment for children in need. But of course, if you're reading Massively, then you're probably an MMO fan, so perhaps you'd like to join one of your favorite MMO studios in its Extra Life efforts. Funcom, Trion Worlds, En Masse, and Turbine all have teams taking part in the event, so if you want to be a part of Extra Life and show your allegiance to one of those studios in the process, all you have to do is head over to that team's Extra Life page and click "join team." Not only do all players who register for Extra Life get a digital copy of Defiance and a RIFT starter pack (for free!) just for signing up, but many of the studios are holding events and prize giveaways for players who participate under their banners. Know of other MMO studios or individuals playing MMOs for charity this weekend? Share links in the comments and spread the love.
Natural Selection 2 dev approves fan-driven championship
Developer Unknown Worlds has heard the pleas of its fans and has decided to greenlight a worldwide championship tournament for its flagship shooter, Natural Selection 2. Tournaments are generally created by developers to promote a game, but in this case the idea for the event came from the Natural Selection 2 fan community. The only hitch is that Unknown Worlds is a relatively small firm which readily admitted that it couldn't afford the $30,000 necessary to host such a tournament. Undeterred, the fans pushed harder: "We will organize it, Unknown Worlds. We will fund it. All we ask is that you help us," wrote members of the community. Finally convinced, Unknown Worlds has agreed to the tournament, assuming the community is able to raise the necessary $30,000 funds. If that occurs, the tournament will host 24 of the best Natural Selection 2 players from around the world in a round robin tournament to determine who is the best of the best. If you'd like to donate to the tournament fundraiser, you can find full information on the game's new GoFundMe page.
City of Heroes spiritual successor plans Kickstarter for Sept. 8th
One of the candidates vying to be the spiritual successor to City of Heroes will be moving into its fundraising stage come this September. Missing Worlds Media's The Phoenix Project, is preparing a Kickstarter campaign for September 8th. The team says that if all goes well (read: the project gets the moolah it needs), the title could be launched by the end of 2015, although it's hoping to get an avatar creator in our hands by next summer. In an interview with Polygon, Technical Director Nate Downes said that the project is 25% to 33% done, although the game is being made completely by 136 volunteers who have other jobs or are full-time students. The Phoenix Project is being built using the Unreal Engine, as Epic has licensed the engine to Missing Worlds with no money down until the team gets funded. Downes hopes that fans will continue to rally to the cause: "This project has grown out of the community that was left behind when City of Heroes closed, so it's really just a lot of passionate people getting together to rebuild that home for themselves."
7 Days to Die has 27 days to raise funds
Excuse me, but you got your zombies all over my Minecraft. What, that's the intent? Well then, carry on! Dubbing itself "the survival horde crafting game," 7 Days to Die is appealing to Kickstarter patrons to help fund this new title to completion. The game puts players in an Arizona county that has largely survived nuclear fallout but is infested with zombies throughout. Players will scavenge for materials, level up classes, build up defenses to survive each night, and use destructible terrain and buildings to their advantage. It remains to be seen whether or not 7 Days to Die crosses over into MMO space; the creators boast a multiplayer feature that may be expanded if stretch goals are met. The Fun Pimps, the developing studio, is looking to raise $200,000 to expand its full-time team. We've got the pre-alpha trailer for you to check out after the break. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
EVO 2013 charity drive raises over $200,000, Smash Bros. Melee final game selection
EVO 2013's charity fundraising competition for the benefit of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation has come to a close, raising an astonishing $225,744 for the cause. The Super Smash Bros. Melee community, having raised the most money out of the competing groups ($94,683), will have its game of choice featured as the eighth official EVO 2013 tournament selection.Of course, reaching the fundraiser's herculean total required the efforts of fighting game communities from all walks. Skullgirls faithfuls piled up $78,760, for instance, while Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo devotees brought in $39,567.The full list of contributors can be found after the break, and while not every community was able to reach a five-figure sum, every bit matters in the fight against cancer. Good game, everyone.
Press Paws charity art show to break hearts, empty wallets, save pooches
On February 9, gaming/puppy enthusiasts Amelia Cantlay, Sakura Minamida, Amber Drsata and Laurie Ma, along with their team of volunteers, will attempt to save as many of man's best friends as possible through Press Paws, a gaming-themed charity art show for the benefit of What's Up Dog! LA.The event is scheduled to take place at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California, and will feature pieces from more than 50 artists, all of which focus on animals in gaming. Art sale and silent auction proceeds go to What's Up Dog! LA, which is why the event's organizers have launched an Indiegogo fundraiser to help cover the cost of printing posters, flyers, providing snacks at the event, etc. Their goal is a meager $3,000, and donations can be made here for those so inclined.
City of Steam shows player collaborations
As part of its pre-launch fundraising efforts, Mechanist Games continues to offer players the chance to design their own in-game item for City of Steam if they kick in $500. It turns out at least four players have done so, and the devs whipped up a new blog post to show the journey from concept to completion for each of these items. The items include a Darth Vader-style mask with cool steampunk goggles, a "Swiss Army Knife" of one-handed swords, a skull-adorned sword with an engine powering it, and a pair of sleek firearms. Mechanist Games says that there are plenty of additional player items being designed and implemented. If you're thinking about making a mark on this upcoming game, you might want to move fast: donors will only have access to the design-an-item perk until December 5th. If you're curious about City of Steam, check out Massively's recent hands-on with the title!
Indie space sandbox Xenocell asks for launch funding
Xenocell is almost ready for launch, but it needs your help to get across that finish line! Wait, you say you've never heard of Xenocell? That's probably because it's a below-the-radar indie title that's only now starting to make itself known to the larger community. Xenocell is a scifi sandbox MMO in which players take on the role of marooned colonists who crash-land on an alien planet and have to rebuild society from scratch. Its fundraiser page says that the team needs $20,000 to help launch the title and support it through the first two months. We've got an overview video of Xenocell for you to check out after the jump and see if this game is worth supporting. [Thanks to Boris for the tip!]
Hailan Rising raises funds for 'love-child of DAoC and CoD'
MMO Kickstarter projects are coming out of the woodwork now, and each one has to sell its concept to would-be donors or else face possible extinction. Today's scrappy contender is Hailan Rising, the "love-child of Dark Age of Camelot and Call of Duty," according to the devs. Hailan Rising is a fantasy PvP MMO that ditches classes and levels for a more level (but not equal) playing field. It features instant action, strategic territory control, randomized loot, and over four billion possible character builds. The game is built on the Unity 3-D engine. The project is being worked on by a couple of MMO studio vets: Adam Smith (Knight Online) and Jess Mulligan (Asheron's Call, Ultima Online). Mulligan said he was attracted to the title's unique PvP mechanic, adding that "this is the fastest and most competitive PvP environment I've ever seen in an MMO." The team's Reloaded studio is looking to raise $275,000 to finish the game for a potential 2013 launch on Mac and PC. If the stretch goal is met, the developers are eyeing mobile platforms as well. Hailan Rising has been in development since 2010. [Additional source: Reloaded press release]
