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Indie Game Bundle Raises Over $100K for Laid-Off Game Developers

Split poster for Game Industry Hardship Fund: left text on supporting game workers; right colorful cartoon hero in fantasy ruins fromArranger A Role-Puzzling Adventure game.

An indie game bundle on itch.io has raised more than $100,000 in just a few days, with proceeds going directly toward supporting game developers affected by industry layoffs.


The bundle was put together by Necrosoft Games as part of a broader effort to fund the Game Worker Hardship Fund, a financial relief initiative launched by the UVW-CWA, also known as the United Videogame Workers union.


The fund was formed to help North American developers who have lost income due to the wave of layoffs that has swept through the gaming industry over the past couple of years.


What Does the Bundle Include?

The collection packs in 127 games donated by 109 different creators, all of whom volunteered their work to support the cause. Bought individually, the full library would set you back over $1,000. Through the bundle, though, you can grab everything for a minimum of $10.


Some of the titles in the bundle are genuinely award-worthy. A Short Hike, a charming exploration game widely praised for its warmth and personality, is included. So is Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure, another standout title that brings something fresh to the puzzle genre. Skatebird also makes the cut, a fun skateboarding game that is easy to lose a few evenings to.


Here’s the full list of games:

  • Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure

  • FutureGrind

  • A Short Hike

  • Little Medusa

  • Dead Finger Dice: A Billionaire Killing Game

  • holedown

  • Cool Kid Cody: Season 1

  • SkateBIRD

  • A Dream About Parking Lots

  • Nekomancer of Nowhere

  • Fun Zone Omega

  • Atomic Owl

  • Drywall Eating Simulator

  • NEUROCRACY

  • Crypt Crawler

  • The Wratch's Den

  • Dyebreaker

  • Centauri Dark

  • dirtbag MAHJONG

  • Dungeon Bodega Simulator

  • Winter Witch

  • Psychroma

  • Repurpose

  • Magenta Horizon - Neverending Harvest

  • Lucah: Born of a Dream

  • Purrfect Apawcalypse: Love at Furst Bite

  • Eldritch

  • Beyond the Chiron Gate

  • Purrfect Apawcalypse: Patches' Infurno

  • SERPENT AT THE VERNISSAGE

  • Purrfect Apawcalypse: Purrgatory Furever

  • I Get This Call Every Day

  • Wheels of Aurelia

  • Antecrypt

  • Vignettes

  • A Simple Twist of Fae: a Spicy Shoujo Otome

  • They Bleed Pixels

  • Exhauster

  • Elephantasy: Flipside

  • Super Slime Arena

  • Cook, Serve, Delicious!

  • Leaf's Odyssey

  • EPONYMOUS

  • NEON STRUCT

  • The Sirena Expedition

  • Gunhouse

  • My Final Cursed Days

  • New Meat

  • Hyper Gunsport

  • Spellbearers

  • Deep Space Exploitation

  • Flowerdrops

  • HORIZON VANGUARD

  • Directory Dungeon - a File Explorer Dungeon Crawler

  • Cycene

  • Lofty Quest

  • the Death of the Video Star

  • Micron

  • Bombing!!: A Graffiti Sandbox

  • Cycle

  • ParaMonsters and the Haunted Escape Room

  • The Nameless City

  • Key Gunner

  • Diorama Dungeoncrawl

  • Orebody: Binder's Tale

  • Bombing!! 2: A Graffiti Paradise

  • Faith in Despair

  • The Wolf of Derevnya

  • ORANGE ROULETTE

  • PARA//LLAX

  • Invasion 360

  • BOPPING DRIVE

  • Little Burned Maiden

  • Pictassembler

  • Chapter 2 - New Life

  • Agents of Groove

  • Eyewear Cleaner 2077

  • Central Fugitive

  • Astra Protocol 2

  • POSSUM BOY!: The Ballad of Joey Virginia

  • The Fair Unknown

  • Selatria

  • Primrows

  • Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee ~ Episode 1 ~ Waltz

  • Astropods Starside Glaze

  • (PC) Jack Dragon and the Stone of Peace

  • An Aisling

  • DropBlop

  • Dead End

  • Ursine Science

  • You Can Save Everyone

  • Joe Terror

  • Molar Mayhem PD

  • The Legends of Galaquia

  • Academic Quest: Legend I

  • Cold Calling

  • Panoptia

  • Rotund Takeoff

  • Seasonspree

  • The Castle of the West

  • Eve of Cultivation

  • In the Absence of Pain

  • Bildungshorror

  • Baimason's Things Finder Puzzle

  • Apples Busy Day

  • Enzio-Ware 2.0 - Early Access

  • Popcorn Rocket

  • A World To Come

  • GROWTH


How Much Has Been Raised So Far?

At the time of writing, 9,400+ people had contributed to the fund through the bundle. The average contribution sat at $14.32, and the highest single donation came in at $5,000. The campaign is still live, with around ten days remaining before it closes.


Necrosoft Games set a fundraising goal of $200,000, and the bundle has already raised $135,616 (67% of the goal).


100% of the money raised goes directly to the hardship fund, with no cut taken out.


Who Can Apply for the Fund?

According to the UVW-CWA, the relief is open to a wide range of workers across the industry. Eligible applicants include those from AAA studios, mobile developers, and indie teams. Full-time, part-time, and contract workers all qualify. Freelancers who lost work as a result of layoffs are also covered.


The fund is split into two tiers:

  • Small Funds Tier: Requests under $1,000

  • Major Expenses Tier: Requests between $1,000 and $5,000


The primary intention is to help workers cover everyday essentials like rent, groceries, and medical costs while they look for their next opportunity.


If you want to grab the bundle and contribute to the cause, it is still available on itch.io for a limited time.


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