The horrific bush-fires that burn across Australia have left a scar on the hearts and minds of people the world over. The fires are leaving so many homeless or worse and are wreaking havoc on the wildlife down-under. Charity groups around the globe are doing what they can to assist, donating resources, manpower, and money to help. Now, the communities of two popular first-person shooter titles, Overwatch and APEX Legends, are wanting to join in.
User WippitGuud over on the Overwatch subreddit was one of the first to bring up the idea of Blizzard adding some fire-fighter themed skins for the Australian duo, Junkrat and Roadhog. They propose selling them then in a similar vein as they did for the Pink Mercy for breast cancer skin back in May of 2018. Originally selling for $14.99, this Pink Mercy skin would go on to raise $12.7 million dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, making it the largest donation a single corporate partner to the group at the time. Wippit’s post, currently sitting at almost 64k upvotes with 1.7k responses, seems to have struck a chord with the community. So much, in fact, that it seems to be spreading.
Seeing Wippit’s idea, user Catnonymous decided to share the idea with the folks over in the Apex Legends subreddit as well. While the response hasn’t been as substantial yet, there is clearly support for the idea with those players too.
It always fills me with a sense of pride when gaming communities come together to try and help out during times of tragedy. It shows that this passion we share, which is oftentimes blamed for tragedies, is in fact something that can do good. It can be a platform to help those in need. Time will tell how Blizzard and Respawn answer their players’ calls. Unfortunately, putting together a skin and throwing it out there isn’t a “done-in-a-day” process. Still, Australia will be needing our help long after the final ember is extinguished. I think players will eagerly buy those charity skins, whether it’s next week or a few months from now.
Would you purchase a character skin or special outfit to help support the Australian relief effort? What other games would you like this idea to spread to? Sound off below!
Featured image photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP
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