COVID Central: Rockstar to Donate 5% of Online Sales to Relief Effort

A lot of companies are stepping up in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, either by donating supplies, refocusing their production, or just straight-up giving money. Rockstar Games, the peeps behind Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V now join the ranks of the latter, announcing that they’re going to donate 5 percent of all their in-game purchase revenue from GTA Online and Red Dead Redemption 2, from now till the end of May, to COVID-19 relief efforts.

From Facebook:

“These funds will be used to help local communities and business struggling with the impact of COVID-19, both directly and by supporting some of the amazing organizations who are on the ground helping those affected by the crisis. As things progress, we will share more on these efforts. Thank you for your support, and we wish you and your families health and safety.”

5 percent might not seem like a whole lot, but you have to remember that Rockstar and Take-Two interactive are making a lot of money from these games, and most of it comes from in-game purchases. The two games have sold around 150 million copies combined (the vast majority being GTA V, but still), and 5 percent of that enormous sum – a sum that will only get larger since more and more people will be playing online – is going to add up to a huge chunk of change.

So congrats, Rockstar, for doing a good thing. Now just stop treating your employees like crap and I might actually start liking you.