Rockstar Games has announced that it will be donating revenue from its online services to COVID-19 relief.
The publisher 1April revealed that 5per cent of its revenue from purchases made within GTA V Online and Red Dead Online will be donated to coronavirus relief efforts. Rockstar will reportedly reveal more information about the donations later on.
Rockstar Games and COVID-19 Relief pic.twitter.com/9j6NrtcrFN
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) April 1, 2020
The news was revealed in an announcement on Rockstar Games’ Twitter account which read: “The Rockstar Games community is at the centre of everything we do. We love seeing players immersed in [the] exploration of our virtual worlds and connecting with each other through them. As our teams navigate these difficult times, we see our local communities across North America, the UK, India and beyond being deeply affected. Small businesses have closed their doors, and communities who rely on government-provided support that they cannot access are struggling. The road ahead will be challenging, and we want to help where we can. Starting April 1st and continuing through the end of May, 5 per cent of our revenue from purchases in our online games, GTA Online and Red Dead Online, will be donated to COVID-19 relief efforts. 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.”
GTA V has sold over 120 million copies worldwide, and Red Dead Redemption 2 has made over 29 million copies. Both games have online services through which Rockstar Games makes a large percentage of their revenue through, so a lot of money will be going to COVID-19 relief.
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter, estimated that the donations could amount to $2 million a month. But since Rockstar doesn’t disclose its exact revenues by month or even by quarter, from individual games, it’s hard to calculate.