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Rockstar Games will be donating a portion of GTA Online and Red Dead Online revenue to coronavirus relief efforts (via OnTechEdge).
“The Rockstar Games community is at the centre of everything we do. We love seeing players immersed in exploration of our virtual worlds and connecting with each other through them,” read the statement posted by the developer to Twitter. “As our teams navigate these difficult times, we see our local communities across North America, the UK, India and beyond being deeply affected.” In response to the crisis, the company will be donating five per cent of all revenue gained from in-game purchases in GTA Online and Red Dead Online, from April 1 to the end of May.
“These funds will be used to help local communities and businesses struggling with the impacts of COVID-19, both directly and by supporting some of the amazing organisations who are on the ground helping those affected by this crisis. As things progress, we will share more on these efforts,” concluded the statement. GTA Online and Red Dead Online are very lucrative titles for Take-Two Interactive, with the former generating gross profits of $299 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020.
Other video game companies that have pledged to help the coronavirus crisis include CD Projekt Red that donated $950,000 to a Polish non-profit to slow the spread of the virus in the country. Ndemic Creations, developer of Plague Inc., donated $250,000 to the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Razer has transitioned a number of its manufacturing lines to produce surgical masks, and Nintendo has given away 9,500 respiratory masks to the city of North Bend in Washington, U.S.
