Key Takeaways
- Industry Challenges: The video game industry has faced significant layoffs and studio closures in recent years.
- Support Initiative: The “Game industry hardship fund” bundle offers 127 PC games for $10 to assist affected developers.
- Fund Distribution: Proceeds from the bundle will support those experiencing layoffs through United Videogame Workers.
- Generous Contributions: The bundle’s MSRP exceeds $1,000, making the $10 donation a substantial discount for buyers.
The past few years have been rough for the video game industry, with news about lay-offs and studio closures providing a constantly bleak backdrop to the steady stream of game releases and updates. While platforms like PC have continued to gain traction, plenty of talented developers have found themselves without jobs, sometimes right after shipping majorly successful titles.
There’s no way to make any of this right, at least without change on a more corporate level, but it’s still possible to extend a bit of a helping hand to those affected. In this case, the project also comes with plenty of free games, so making a small donation is a win-win.
The new “Game industry hardship fund” bundle from itch.io bundles 127 PC games for $10, with proceeds going toward “a hardship fund for those experiencing layoffs.” Hosted by Demonschool developer Necrosoft Games, the bundle will distribute its funds through United Videogame Workers, a union benefiting developers in North America. The bundle cites the “massive layoffs at Ubisoft, Microsoft, and many others,” noting that unemployed or under-employed developers can use the money raised for things like “food, healthcare, and rent.
Considering the size of the bundle, there’s a lot to look at here, but some notable standouts are A Short Hike, SkateBIRD, Wheels of Aurelia, and Arranger. The MSRP of all included items totals over $1,000, making the $10 donation threshold a 99% discount. Of course, it’s also possible to provide a contribution of more than $10, with the top contribution so far listed as a whopping $2,000 donation.
This is far from the first time that itch.io has housed massive bundles to benefit causes, with a couple of prominent examples supporting the war-torn nations of Ukraine and Palestine. Even with 100 games, the newest collection is smaller than the platform’s biggest bundles in the past, with each bundle proving how many developers are willing to come together for a cause.
The “Game industry hardship fund” bundle is targeting a goal of $100,000, and it’s already managed to raise $20,000 at the time of writing. With nearly two weeks to go, meeting that lofty goal looks like it should be well within reach. Hopefully, the money will be able to find its way effectively to some of the game developers affected by the current volatility of the industry. As for the games, they should have no trouble finding their way into appreciative hands of PC gamers.
- Brand
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Apple, HP, Microsoft, Dell, Samsung, Lenovo, Toshiba, Asus, Acer
- Original Release Date
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1971
- Original MSRP (USD)
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The Kenbak I is considered the very first PC, which cost $750 back in 1971. Adjusted for inflation, the first PC cost around $4,659.
- Weight
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The Kenbak I weighed around 20 pounds, but today, computers vary in weight depending on the equipment used for gaming.
