Hundreds of gamers and thousands of donors worldwide participated in this year’s event, raising an astounding $2M.
Proceeds raised will support Bungie Foundation’s iPads for Kids program as well as Humanitarian Aid and Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity initiatives.
One such humanitarian aid effort has been in response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. As a result, an incredible $120,000 from the proceeds raised from Game2Give will be divided equally to benefit the non-profits Direct Relief and International Rescue Committee. These humanitarian aid organizations provide life-saving support to communities impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, including over 164 tons of medical aid and refugee assistance.
Game2Give is a forward-thinking fundraising event that unites top gaming, content creators, streamers, and corporations with a passion for the digital space to create positive change and raise significant funds to make this world a better place for all.
“We’re grateful to the entire gaming community for rising to this momentous occasion, both those who fundraised and who supported their favorite streamers through their donations. Our highest individual fundraiser, Trials Report, raised a whopping $78,133, and our highest fundraising team, Garrison Community, raised an impressive $21,350. The event also received support from an impressive list of content creators, including Tamsin Wood, T1Riot, and Leopard.” A representative said.
What’s next for Bungie Foundation?
Stay tuned for details on Bungie Day in July 2022 and the fourth annual Game2Give in November 2022. And check back regularly to their social channels for impact reports on how these incredible funds will be put to work.
Game2Give is a testament to how technology can bring us together and connect us to those we could not otherwise reach. Organizers invite anyone interested in creating change to take part and make a significant change.
The annual 10-day London Games Festival has returned to the capital, with a number of consumer and business events taking place across the city and online.
Supported by the Mayor of London, and leading partners across the games industry, players can expect to enjoy a number of physical events including a three-day Trafalgar Square takeover, brand new consumer gaming event W.A.S.D, and returning cultural heavyweights including Now Play This at Somerset House, and the BAFTA Games Awards.
In addition, for the first time ever, players across the globe can enjoy hands-on time with a number of the festival’s Official Selection games.
The business of gaming continues to take centre stage at the festival, and the significance of the UK games industry was further highlighted this week as industry governing body Ukie issued its annual UK Consumer Games Market Valuation, revealing the UK video games market reached a record high of £7.16bn in 2021.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m delighted that the London Games Festival returns to our city this month, with an exhibition in Trafalgar Square at the heart of the celebrations. The games industry is thriving, bringing significant investment and jobs to our capital. The festival is a brilliant showcase for the industry, shining a spotlight on the innovative start-ups and promoting opportunities for Black, Asian and minority ethnic talent. It shows yet again why London is a leading global city for business and innovation.” The festival’s opening weekend highlights include…
TRAFALGAR SQUARE TAKEOVER This special three-day Trafalgar Square takeover, from 1st-3rd April, showcases the diversity and creativity the UK games industry has to offer, along with a look at its incredible history. Highlights detailed below include Ensemble, Play Nation, Virtual Photography Showcase, and the Official Selection.
ENSEMBLE Supported by PlayStation Games London’s acclaimed exhibition celebrating the efforts of games developers from Black, Asian and underrepresented ethnicities returns with a cohort of eight new talents. Striking portraits and captivating profiles detail the achievements of Adam Campbell, Haroon Thantrey, Jay-Ann Lopez, Jay Shin, John Lau, Leah Muwanga-Magoye, Lili Ibrahim and Taiwo Omisore. This exhibition will then tour other UK locations – starting with one of next weekend’s tentpole LGF events, W.A.S.D. at Tobacco Dock (Thursday 7 April to Saturday 9 April).
PLAY NATION (at Trafalgar Square) Supported by Wizards of the Coast / Dungeons & Dragons / Magic: The Gathering Curated by the LGF team, Play Nation is a brand new exhibition drawing together unique and previously unseen archive pictures to tell the history of games in the UK from the point of view of the players themselves. Starting at an East London arcade and then moving via the dining rooms tables that hosted tabletop games, and even a church in Wales – these striking pictures charts how UK citizens have loved games for the last 40+ years.
VIRTUAL PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWCASE (at Trafalgar Square and online) Presented by NVIDIA A unique showcase of in-game artworks created by players around the world and delivered in partnership with community site The Fourth Focus’ VP Awards and supported by NVIDIA Studio, the platform that supercharges the creative process for artists. The Virtual Photography Showcase puts in-game virtual photo artworks out in the real world – with exciting, emotional and eye-catching work produced in some of the world’s best-selling games. The exhibition is the jumping-off point for a brand new London Games Festival Virtual Photo Challenge, which runs until Wednesday 6 April. Budding artists looking to become the next Virtual Photographer of the Year can also win a NVIDIA RTX Studio Laptop worth over £3000. Head to games.london/2022vpchallenge/ for details on how to enter.
OFFICIAL SELECTION (at Trafalgar Square and online) Supported by Fireshine Games
Also on the Square is a special showcase promoting the 33 games in this year’s London Games Festival Official Selection. Dedicated artwork and images from each game are on show, supporting the online showcase of games which can be found at showcase.games.london. Also on show is a special set of art from the upcoming game Silt which was originally signed at London Games Festival in 2019 – and is now set for release from publisher Fireshine Games later this month.
The wider London Games Festival 2022 runs 1 April to 10 April as a hybrid event with activity taking place online and in-person. For full listings head to www.games.london/#whatson
Rovio Entertainment has launched Rovio Classics: Angry Birds – a complete recreation of the original Angry Birds game as it appeared in app stores in 2012. The game includes all chapters from the original game, along with all of the Easter eggs and extras found in the game at that time.
Why 2012? After Angry Birds was removed from app stores in 2019, fans flocked to social media, banding together to call for the game’s return using the hashtag #BringBack2012. The outcry was impossible to ignore.
“We are extremely grateful to have such an amazing community of engaged fans that care deeply about our games,” says Rovio CEO Alex Pelletier-Normand. “Angry Birds has touched so many people and has been a large presence in mobile gaming. After hearing the outcry from our fans, we just had to find a way to bring Angry Birds back.”
Originally built in Rovio’s proprietary game engine, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds has been rebuilt from the ground up in Unity, creating a more sustainable platform for the game to be offered on newer devices while preserving the authentic 2012 Angry Birds experience.
“While we were rebuilding Angry Birds, we took great care to preserve the feeling of the original Angry Birds game,” says executive producer, Sami Ronkainen. “We know our fans are a discerning bunch and will be able to pick out even small differences. Matching the gameplay, physics and appearance of the game next to the original was crucial.”
As an added bonus, the pig destroying power-up, Mighty Eagle, will be available to all players for free. Offered in the original Angry Birds game as an in-app purchase, the Mighty Eagle gives players a way to pass some of the more notoriously challenging levels. Players can also use this big bird to achieve a 100% Eagle Score in every level, in addition to the classic three-star achievement.
Rovio Classics: Angry Birds is available now in the App Store and Google Play as a premium download for the very retro price of $0.99.
The Train2Game Blog 