League of Legends players were awarded the Golden Halo Award in Consumer Donation/Crowdfunding by the organization known as Engage for Good, for the exemplary support of local nonprofit groups through the Dark Star Cho’Gath campaign. Together, players raised over $6.1 million to be dispersed among 21 different nonprofit groups around the world.
The success of the Dark Star Cho’Gath campaign began with Bryan, a League of Legends player who in 2017, was visiting Riot Games through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. His desire was to both meet the creators of his favorite game and create a skin together with them.
As Bryan plays the champion Cho’Gath almost exclusively in the game, it came as no surprise that he wanted to create a skin for his favorite character. At the studio, he showed exactly how he envisioned the skin’s unique animation, and also performed the clarinet on Cho’Gath’s theme song to be included in the game.
When the skin was complete, Riot Games sold it for a limited time with all proceeds donated to over 20 nonprofit groups, each receiving a minimum of $10,000.
This is not the first time that League of Legends players received this kind of social nod for wholesome behavior. In 2010, the Urf Warwick skin sold on April Fool’s Day, and its proceeds went towards the Save the Manatees Club. The following year, they again raised more than $162,000 for the Red Cross Foundation following the earthquake in Japan.
Other games have partaken in this kind of charity as well. In 2018, Blizzard released a pink-colored skin for the character Mercy, with all proceeds going towards the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In the limited time that the skin was available, it raised over $12 million for the organization.
Using video games towards altruistic causes is not only a recent trend. In 2003, the charity known as Child’s Play was founded by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, authors of the well-known comic and website Penny-Arcade. Since its inception, more than $44 million have been raised through fundraising and charity for children’s hospitals worldwide.
It is wonderful to hear that the Dark Star Cho’Gath campaign was so successful in raising funds for charity. Now, if only Riot Games could treat its employees half as well as it treats charitable causes, it might become a company worth respecting. For now, these heartwarming stories only help us forget for a little while that they are currently in significant trouble claims of rampant sexual harassment in the workplace and forcing arbitration onto their employees.