The Modern Warfare community answered Activision’s call of duty to help raise money for Australia bushfire relief, with the Call of Duty developers announcing $1.6 million will be donated to charity.
Australia has been ravaged by bushfires over the last few months, claiming over 30 lives, destroying almost 2,000 homes, and scorching millions of acres of land.
When the gaming community called on developers to take action and try and raise money for the communities devastated by the fires, players answered in droves.
However, no community heeded the call louder than the Modern Warfare one, with Activision announcing they raised $1.6 million from the sale of the Outback Relief Pack over 20 days between January 11 and January 31.
— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) January 11, 2020
“Players and fans worldwide have come together to raise more than $1.6 million through the purchase of the ‘Outback Relief Pack’,” said David Hodgson, the Editorial Manager of Activision in a February 3 blog post. “These funds will help provide relief toward the devastating bushfires in Australia.”
100% of Activision’s net proceeds from the cosmetic pack, which included a Operator skin, a Sniper Rifle camo, and a cute Koala bear charm to attach to your weapon, were donated to Direct Relief to distribute on the company’s behalf.
“Direct Relief has already started to provide much-needed emergency and health supplies in coordination with local aid groups as they respond to the pressing needs of millions of Australians affected by these tragic conditions,” he said.
"Together, the #CallofDuty community raises over $1.6 million dollars for Australian Bushfire Relief"Details Here: https://t.co/KikTiU57un pic.twitter.com/GKet1IhUkO
— Activision (@Activision) February 3, 2020
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The donation from the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developers represent the largest single contribution from the gaming community over the bushfire season, with Activision thanking players for their generosity.
“We’re honored to help in this effort with the funds from the Outback Relief pack,” said Byron Geede, EVP of Call of Duty. “We thank everyone for their generosity, and we look forward to putting this donation into action.”
Other developers chipped in where they could to help support fire-ravaged communities across Australia. Ubisoft’s Australia branch donated $30,000 on January 9, while Bungie put on their own fundraiser, which is still ongoing.
The bushfire crisis has devastated communities across the nation and the scenes of loss are heartbreaking.
We’ve heard the calls requesting we create in-game items to encourage donations, however this takes considerable development time and we feel immediate action is required. pic.twitter.com/7JPg0QPOqQ
— Ubisoft ANZ (@UbisoftANZ) January 9, 2020
Streamers also mobilized their communities to do what they could. Australian streamer group The Click Crew put forward a huge $300,000 donation after a 36-hour livestream, which included contributions from the likes of Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys and Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel.
Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins shocked fellow Fortnite content creator Lachlan Power with a $30,000 donation during his January 14 fundraiser, while Tyler ‘Trainwreckstv’ Niknam hosted a charity edition of his Scuffed Podcast, pulling in over $40,000.
If you’d like to support communities rebounding after the bushfire crisis, you can donate to the Australian Red Cross or the Salvation Army.