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This War of Mine studio donates £520k to Ukraine

UPDATE: Pokémon, Supercell, Fatshark, Quantic Dream also donate, while Bloober pulls games.

UPDATE 5pm UK: The Pokémon Company has announced its own $200k (£150k) donation, and called the crisis in Ukraine and Eastern Europe was "heartbreaking".

UPDATE 4pm UK: In the past few hours, more developers have announced donations to charitable causes in aid of Ukraine.

Swedish studio Fatshark, developer of Warhammer Vermintide 2, said it had been "shocked by events in Ukraine" and would donate 300k SEK (around £25k) to the Red Cross.

Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream, now working on Star Wars: Eclipse, said it was "deeply concerned by the escalating events", and that its "thoughts are with our friends and trusted partners in the region". It has donated $75k (£56k) to the UN Refugee Agency.

Clash of Clans maker Supercell, now owned by Tencent, said it was "horrified by the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Ukraine" and that it wanted to "try and play a part, however small, in alleviating that suffering". It will donate $1m (£829k) and match a further $1m from any donations made by players donating via here.

And in related news, Polish studio Bloober Team has pulled its catalogue of games - such as Layers of Fear and The Medium - from sale in both Russia and Belarus.

As we reported earlier, The Witcher and Cyberpunk developer CD Projekt Red has done similar - but gone further in also blocking Russia and Belarus from all purchases via its PC store GOG.


ORIGINAL STORY 12.45pm UK: 11 Bit Studios, the Polish developer behind Frostpunk and This War of Mine, has announced a substantial 3m PLN (£520k) donation to aid Ukraine.

Writing via Facebook, 11 Bit's message was simple: "#FuckTheWar".

The studio had previously said it would also donate all proceeds from the sale of anti-war game This War of Mine over the past week to the Ukrainian Red Cross - one of several developers with similar initiatives.

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"Your support gathered for Ukraine warms our hearts," the studio wrote, "but we still need you, please, do not stop.

"Buy This War of Mine anywhere and support victims of war in Ukraine."

Numerous video game companies have announced donations and fundraising drives to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, such as Unity, Ubisoft, CD Projekt Red, and THQ owner Embracer.

Yesterday, Ukraine's deputy prime minister has called on PlayStation and Xbox to stop supporting the Russian market completely. EA, meanwhile, will remove Russia from FIFA 22.

This War of Mine is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation and Xbox, as well as via the App Store and Google Play.

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