In a community update on Steam titled “Mission Koala”, the US-based developers have pledged to give 100% of their profits from their own store, along with 30% of profits from all their Steam sales during January and February to help the fire relief effort. Though they don’t specify a charity, founder and CEO, Alex Koshelkov writes: “Profits from our games will be donated towards rebuilding lost homes, firefighters working overtime and environmental cleanup.” Crytivo aren’t the only developers to offer up their own funds to help Australia. Over the Christmas period, Convict Games, creators of Stone (the hip-hop noir game about a private investigator koala) donated 50% of their profits to WWF Australia. If you’ve ever thought of giving The Universim a go though, now is as good a time as any to buy it, and it’s available on Steam right here. Here’s a little excerpt from Fraser Brown’s Premature Evaluation of the game to pique your interest: “The Universim’s attractive galaxy is a backdrop for a single, randomly-generated, Earth-like diorama. Those opening moments hint at its grand ambitions, of space travel and alien planets, before returning somewhere more familiar.” If you don’t fancy that, Crytivo sell other games on their online store, or there are plenty of other places you can donate to Australian charities online. These bushfires have already devastated thousands of homes, killed billions of animals, and taken more than 20 human lives - quite frankly the relief efforts need all the help they can get. “Our hearts go out to everyone who has suffered from this disaster and to the heroes working tirelessly to help,” Koshelkov continues. “We hope this will inspire others to take action and help in any way they can.” Update: The developers of Kao The Kangaroo, Tate Interactive, have announced that between the 9th and the 19th of January, 100% of profit from Steam sales of Kao The Kangaroo: Round 2 will be donated to the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).
“We want to unite with Australia in this especially difficult hour as it is really hard to stay idly and watch this catastrophe,” the developers write. “We believe that together with our dearest community we can contribute to the worldwide donations and help those who are in need.”