Sales of a special Overwatch skin and other merchandising related to the game have raised $12.7 million for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
The donation – which Blizzard says is: “The largest donation by a corporate partner within one year in Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s 25-year history,” – resulted from sales of the Pink Mercy skin in Overwatch. Pink Mercy was a limited-edition skin for the character Mercy, who Blizzard describes as: “A scientist and “guardian angel” of the game who has dedicated her life to helping others.” 100 per cent of the proceeds went to the BCRF.
Blizzard also made a limited edition Pink Mercy t-shirt available for purchase, designed by the artist VICKISIGH, again with all proceeds going to the BCRF. And charity stream viewers raised an additional $130,000 in donations, thanks to streams performed by 14 different Overwatch stars around the world on Twitch.
Further details of the fortnight-long initiative, including some stunning fan-art and photography of the cheque-handover event can be seen on Blizzard’s blog. Once again, gamers around the world have demonstrated that videogames can very tangibly be a force for good in the world.
