This article is part of “Code COVID” a series on how the gaming and esports industry is responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
With the serious impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus worldwide, everyone is doing their best to fight the disease and lend a helping hand. The video game and esports industries are no exception to this.
Here’s a closer look at how some gaming and esports brands, companies, and personalities have been going above and beyond to help combat the pandemic.
Razer converts manufacturing lines to produce masks
Last month Razer CEO, Tan Min-Liang, announced that the gaming peripheral brand would be converting some of its manufacturing lines to produce masks. They plan to make up to one million pieces of surgical masks to be distributed to different health institutions worldwide.
Just this week the team dropped off their first batch at the National Center of Social Services in Singapore.
Team Liquid holds a week-long charity stream
Renowned esports organization Team Liquid was able to raise a whopping US$77,000 during The Quarathon, a week-long charity streaming marathon with all proceeds going towards COVID-19 relief causes.
Their initial goal was US$50,000 but with the overwhelming support of fans and everyone who wanted to help against COVID-19, Team Liquid went over their goal by US$27,000.
Professional players Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen (League of Legends), Jake “Stewie” Yip (CS:GO), and Dario “TLO” Wünsch (Starcraft II) were just some of the participants of the fundraiser, which ran from March 21 – 29.
Esports pros donate to COVID-19 charities
Some of the biggest names in the esports industry have donated a large part of their earnings for COVID-19 relief causes.
LoL Korean superstar, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, made a personal donation of ₩30 million (~US$25,000) to the non-profit organization Community Chest of Korea. His organization T1 also raised cash donations through a relay stream featuring different T1 players.
Another Korean LoL pro player, Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong, made a generous donation of ₩5 million (US$4, 100) to the victims of the disease. The Gen.G mid laner made the contribution just days before his birthday on March 1.
Fortnite celebrity Tyler “Ninja” Blevins made the biggest donation so far in the esports scene with US$150,000. Ninja and his wife made a pledge to Feeding America’s COVID-19 response fund to provide meals for out-of-school children and their families.
- World Health Organization teams up with games industry for #PlayApartTogether campaign
- Blizzard is doubling XP in World of Warcraft to keep people indoors
Plague Inc. developers work with WHO
Ndemic Creations announced that they are working on an update for their hit real-time strategy simulation title Plague Inc.
The team has partnered up with the World Health Organization (WHO) to help spread pandemic awareness by letting players “save the world from a deadly disease outbreak” in a new game mode for the popular game.
Existing Plague Inc. owners will get to experience the new game mode soon in a free update.
Discord expands its live streaming services
The good guys over at Discord have upgraded their live streaming and screen share limit for the duration of the pandemic to help anyone stuck in quarantine, either working from home or studying.
The live streaming and screen share limit have increased from 10 to 50 people, making Discord perfect for business meetings or just for hanging out with your friends when you can’t see them in real life.
READ MORE: Team Adroit on COVID-19: ‘Our biggest challenge is not being able to go home’
