After putting out an open call to developers earlier this week, itch.io today launched its Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality with over 700 works included. The bundle is pay-what-you-want with a $5 minimum, with all proceeds being split 50/50 between the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund.
The bundle includes 740+ projects from 560+ developers—while the majority of these are indie games, other itch-compatible projects like asset packs for game development are also included. Among the games included are acclaimed indies like The Mortician’s Tale, Oxenfree, Minit, and A Short Hike, among plenty of other lesser-known (but no less intriguing) games.
While $5 is the minimum, the average contribution sits at $15.72 at the time of writing, with a top contribution of $2,000. The bundle has already raised over $117,000 in less than 24 hours, with a little over 10 days left to go.
The items in the bundle can be downloaded directly from itch in the normal manner, or through the itch launcher (note that Steam keys aren’t available). While buying the bundle saves everything in it to your account, you’ll need to manually add individual works to your library before they show up in your collection or the itch launcher. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to add the whole bundle at once, at least for now.
It’s possible (and probably likely) that the bundle will continue to grow, too—the call for submissions remains open, and will do so for the rest of the bundle’s time. New additions to the bundle will be available to everyone who previously purchased it, so there’s no need to worry about missing out on anything by buying early.
The goal of this bundle (and a lot of others like it) is to raise funds for organisations that are practically supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The recent protests sparked by the murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police have brought more widespread attention to the issue of systemic racism and violence within the police system, but it’s a problem that’s been around—and that Black people have been speaking up about—forever.
If you want to learn more and find other ways to help, you’ll find some excellent resources at blacklivesmatter.carrd.co.
