Rockstar Games last night officially announced that it will be donating 5% of in-game revenue from both GTA Online and Red Dead Online during the month of April to help fund COVID-19 relief. Both games feature microtransactions, where players can spend real money to get virtual currency, and are extremely popular overall, so while that 5% might sound like a relatively small slice of the pie, it might also be more significant than it sounds.
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“Starting April 1st and continuing through the end of May, 5% of our revenue from purchases in our online games, GTA Online and Red Dead Online, will be donated to COVID-19 relief efforts,” the statement from the company reads in part. “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 organizations who are on the ground helping those affected by the crisis.”
You can check out the full message from Rockstar Games below:
Rockstar Games and COVID-19 Relief pic.twitter.com/9j6NrtcrFN
— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) April 1, 2020
Notably, Rockstar Games does not name names here when it says it will donate this money, so it’s unclear exactly which organizations will be supported. And, of course, there’s no firm number attached as there’s no telling how much 5% of April’s in-game revenue will look like from the two games, but both have been and remain incredibly popular, so the total likely won’t be anything to scoff at. As the month goes on, it sounds like Rockstar Games will update folks with more details.
What do you think of Rockstar Games donating 5% of in-game revenue? Are you an avid GTA Online or Red Dead Online player? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!
GTA Online and Red Dead Online are both available on several platforms, including PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Rockstar Games right here.
