Update: Moon Studios, iam8bit and Skybound Games have announced that December's sales drive to help Rainforest Trust raised $58,000 (or £43,000 GBP) for the charity. Jon M. Gibson and Amanda White, co-owners of iam8bit, have shared the following message:
“As the publishers of the Ori series on Nintendo Switch, we could not be more thrilled by the outcome of this drive. Between Moon Studios’ eco-positive storytelling and Rainforest Trust’s incredible work protecting rainforests around the world, we are humbled by the fans that helped us raise $58,000 for Rainforest Trust’s cause, and honored to partner with such an organization.”
The teams say that at an average cost of $2 an acre, the $58,000 raised will protect 29,000 acres of rainforest habitat – a space said to be around 83 times the size of London’s Hyde Park, or equivalent to 36 times the size of Snowdonia.
Well done to everyone involved!
Original Article (Wed 9th Dec, 2020 12:30 GMT): The teams responsible for the recent physical releases of Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Switch – iam8bit, Skybound Games, and developer Moon Studios – have all come together to support Rainforest Trust.
iam8bit has announced that it will be donating $25,000 to "aid in the conservation of the most threatened tropical forests and saving endangered wildlife." But gaming fans can get involved, too, as 5% of all Nintendo Switch and iam8bit sales this week will go directly to support Rainforest Trust’s efforts. Here's how it works:
Between December 8-13, iam8bit will automatically process donations on behalf of fans, regardless of region. Fans can participate in three ways:
- Download Ori and the Will of the Wisps from the Nintendo eShop
- Purchase Ori and the Will of the Wisps physical edition from any retailer globally, including Amazon (worldwide), Game (UK), Best Buy, GameStop and hundreds of others.
- Purchase the Ori Collector’s Edition directly from iam8bit.com
iam8bit co-owners Jon M. Gibson and Amanda White explain why they've decided to do some good with their marketing budget:
"iam8bit’s very first game as a publisher is Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch. As a publisher, we considered how best to spend the game's marketing budget, and decided to shake things up to try and make a positive difference with that money.
"As we’ve worked with Moon Studios to publish the Ori series on Nintendo Switch, we’ve been struck by their dedication to expressing nature as a living, breathing entity worthy of protection. Following their lead, we wanted to do our part to preserve nature, and are excited to work with the wonderful and dedicated people at Rainforest Trust to do just that."
You can learn more about Rainforest Trust and its work safeguarding endangered tropical habitats at its official website.
Comments 28
I think I'll continue to do the selfish thing and wait for a sale as I'm not exactly swimming in money and haven't gotten around to playing the first game yet anyway but that's a really good initiative so good on them.
Amazing game and port with a lot of effort put into it.
So glad my physical coming from Amazon UK is helping the Rainforest
iam8bit, The Ori developers (and in association, Microsoft) are such great people.
I'm still playing through the first Ori, but I may buy this one now to take part in this.
I feel so bad. Cyber sale emptied me for good.
Good on them. I always appreciate those trying to make a positive difference in the world!
Will digital sales count towards this? Just started the first and loving it so I'd like to get the second now whilst they're doing this
*Just skimmed the article and saw that it will. Whoops for being too quick to post
Makes me even glader I bought both games, got them today.
Well that sucks, my preorder shipment was just delayed a month by amazon.
I still love you, rainforest! 😢
Admirable choice!
I need to buy one then. Wonder if I can find a physical copy at Gamestop?
@nerdface Same. It is supposedly saving me around 10$ on the purchase price, 30$ instead of 40$, but no idea when it'll actually ship.
@Quantaur Yeah, I'm not a prime member, so two-day(cause come on lol) cost me like $11 I think.
I'd still have paid more if it meant being here already. I didn't know I was choosing the discount January option.
...but w/e, this game looks so good (like the first), and the developers made such an awesome effort, I'm not gonna let another month get me down...I really wanted the physical version of this, and it will be worth the wait.
I guess I can always donate a few bucks to save the rainforest seperately. 😛
I'm glad to hear i could help out the rainforest with my purchase 😊.
I bought both games which will be arriving today 😃.
Sad that my preorder from a month or so ago won't be directly helping, but hopefully a part of that 25k can be attributed to me.
And I loved Ori, the dev team, the fact that the dev team picked up Dr.M64, the beautiful visuals, breaking console boundaries, and now this? I genuinely hope they win many awards tomorrow.
@Little_Squee not only that, I need to play games from the sales..
That's really good of them.
Great game series as well. Top level indies.
If only they donated the full £25 mark up price the switch physical has over the XBox version.
@Quantaur My copy is out for delivery today. I also got an email from amazon further discounting the game, so that was cool.
Looking forward to escaping all these rogue-likes I've buried myself in and do some platforming.
I'm glad it can go to a good cause
That maths sounds wrong. Snowdonia isn't just a little over twice the size of Hyde Park. I think someone got their units mixed up. I think it's closer to 1/18 of the size of Snowdonia.
We need all the trees we can get.
Yep! My physical copy just came in today. As soon as I’m done with Buldur’s Gate, I’m gonna be all over it!
That's awesome!
Hopefully iam8bit gets more CE so more can buy to support as well.
Good job. Will have to get this one asap.
Oh man I love this. I guess the Switch one will be my version of choice then once I'm ready to hop into this.
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