Charity game storefront Humble Bundle is ceasing operations in Russia and Belarus, following the invasion of Ukraine. It is also organizing a bundle to raise funds for humanitarian causes in Ukraine, with 100 percent of donations going to charity. Humble Bundle joins major players in the gaming industry in boycotting Russia, including Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Companies across the board are now joining the boycott in droves, as the world condemns Putin's actions - which have caused 2.3 million Ukrainians to flee the country so far. "Like many in the world, we condemn the violent and unlawful invasion in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it is causing", Humble Bundle wrote in a statement. "Today we are suspending sales of all Humble products and Humble Games titles in Russia and Belarus."We are actively working on an all-to-charity bundle to help victims and refugees from Ukraine and will be announcing the details in the coming week."
Typically, Humble Bundle splits portions of sales between the site, the games' publishers, and a chosen charity. The wording of this statement suggests that management and game publishers will forgo their cut, with 100 percent of the donations going towards helping Ukrainian citizens in need.
This is quite the move from Humble Bundle, especially considering the backlash it faced last year. Changes to the site in 2021 made it impossible for buyers to choose to donate 100 percent of their purchases to charity, making it so that 15 percent had to go towards the site's owners, IGN Entertainment. This was a compromise on a previous, unpopular change, which saw fixed amounts shared between publishers, the site, and charities - with the largest portion going to IGN. Now, it's possible that select, highly publicized bundles will see all of their earnings go to those in need.
While we don't know what titles will be included just yet, it's likely to be a success. A similar bundle organized by itch.io managed to raise a staggering $2 million in just one day, and sits at almost $4 million at the time of writing.