Remember that Pink Mercy skin that Blizzard rolled out back in May to support breast cancer research? Well, that skin, alongside merchandise and Twitch donations, raised over $12.7 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
In early May, Blizzard launched a surprise charity campaign largely centered around the magical Pink Mercy skin. The only way to get the skin was to purchase it for $15, with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to the BCRF. Overwatch fans and players could also support the charity drive by buying merch or participating in certain Twitch streams.
Blizzard announced Monday that the campaign raised $12,703,828 for the BCRF. The donation is the biggest by a corporate partner in the BCRF’s 25-year history.
Thank you, heroes!
Together, we have raised over $12.7 million (USD) for @BCRFcure
🎀 https://t.co/eQAZ8rKwKI pic.twitter.com/ASWzBuodfh
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 9, 2018
More than $10 million of that came from the Pink Mercy skin alone. The rest of it came from Twitch donations and the sale of limited edition Pink Mercy shirts designed by community artist VICKISIGH.
Funds raised from Twitch streamers throughout the May campaign totaled over $130,000.
finding a cure pic.twitter.com/eON9sfoHt5
— itsa me, vicki 🌵 (@vickisigh) May 9, 2018
Breast Cancer Research Foundation representatives visited Blizzard headquarters for a “special check presentation,” to celebrate the campaign’s success.
Pink Mercy was Overwatch’s very first charity skin, but it went much more than skin-deep. It turned Mercy into a full-blown magical girl, complete with long blonde pigtails and sparkly sound effects. The skin and its accompanying merchandise was only available from May 8 to 21.
Choosing Mercy for this special charity skin seemed more than appropriate, as Mercy is known for her compassion and drive to help and heal her companions. She is a Swiss field medic, technologically advanced scientist, and is known as a “peerless healer.”
The cause was also near and dear to the Overwatch team’s hearts, according to game director Jeff Kaplan.
“Breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women,” Kaplan said in the developer update video from May. “Many of us on the Overwatch team have friends and family that have been personally affected by this devastating disease.”
The compassion displayed by the Overwatch community during the campaign is truly inspiring and it would be pretty awesome to see more charity drives like this throughout the gaming community.
Blizzard hasn’t yet announced if it will run charity drives in the future, but given Pink Mercy’s success, the Overwatch community can likely look forward to similar campaigns.