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Gaming for Good: the best games to raise funds
23 Feb 2024by Joe Lepper
Knowing the popular games among influencers and their followers is key to creating engaging Gaming for Good campaigns
Charities looking to run a successful Gaming for Good campaign need to ensure they are involving games that are popular or generating interest among the gaming community. Fundraising with gaming requires you to engage influencers and streamers, as well as encourage their followers to donate.
We have already looked at how charities can find gamers for fundraising, especially how to connect with influencers. We have also offered advice to gamers and influencers on how they can raise funds, including the best technology to use.
Here we offer a snapshot of the games, which are the most talked about within the gaming community and will help bring vital donations to charities during Gaming for Good initiatives.
Charities are advised to spend time researching the most the popular and viewed games via the key gameplay streaming platforms, such as Twitch and Youtube. The research can help develop Gaming for Good link ups with games developers, who can incorporate fundraising into promoting their game.
Minecraft
Minecraft is hugely popular among children and adults alike, as it allows gamers to create their own world from blocks, embark on adventures, and play with friends. The gameplay is highly engaging to watch.
It was fully released in November 2011 and is available across a range of consoles. It is currently the best-selling video game of all time, with more than 200 million copies sold and 126 million active monthly users, as of 2020.
We have listed Minecraft due to its longevity as a top game over several years. As of July 2021 it is the eighth most popular game of all time on Twitch, with 8.68 billion views.
Its popularity does not look like waning. Twitch viewing hour figures for August 2021 rank Minecraft as the sixth most viewed game on the platform, clocking in 76 million viewing hours alone that month.
Minecraft is even more popular on Youtube. It was the most popular game in 2020 on the platform and has been viewed more than 200bn times.
It is also long been used by gamers to raise money, particularly in the US, with Youtube Gaming for Good initiatives using Minecraft racking up millions of views each year, including in 2021.
League of Legends
Another long running game that continues to appeal to gamers and influencers is the multiplayer battle game League of Legends, which is available on Microsoft Windows and Macs. It was released in 2009 and it remains free to play, monetised through purchasing upgrades to characters.
As of July 2021 League of Legends was the most viewed game on Twitch of all time, attracting a total of 42.55 billion views. It is already a popular game for Gaming for Good initiatives as its team-based game play is often highly entertaining for viewers.
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World of Warcraft
Another popular game to stream for Gaming for Good initiatives is World of Warcraft, a multiplayer fantasy role playing game. The game allows players to create a character avatar and explore an open game world to complete quests and explore. It encourages players to work together, which makes it ideal entertainment for stream viewers.
World of Warcraft is among the 20 most watched games on Twitch as of 2021, with more than 25,000 views in the last seven days alone. In August it accrued just under 17 million viewer hours on the platform.
Fortnite
Team based survival game Fortnite has become one of the most played games globally due to its simplicity and free game play. The player is flown into an open world set where they can combine survival and shooting as well as construct innovative ways to escape other competitors.
While free to play, there are a range of in-app purchases. Between its launch in 2017 and 2021 the number of registered Fortnite users has rocketed from 20 million to more than 350 million.
Over the last month (August 2021), it has clocked more than 66 million viewer hours on Twitch and is similarly popular on Youtube.
Keep an eye on new games
Charities are advised to keep an eye on the latest, most talked about new games. These often generate considerable interest among viewers and the chance to boost fundraising on gaming platforms such as Twitch.
An example in 2021 is Genshin Impact, another fantasy role playing game with a multiplayer element. This has been the most Tweeted about video game of 2021 at the time of writing after its Play Station 5 release in April.
Another hotly anticipated game in 2021 is Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. This is the gaming offshoot of the popular comic and film series and its popularity is set to be boosted further by its availability across a range of platforms. It’s 1980s soundtrack is also generating interest online.
Joe Lepper
Joe Lepper
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