Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis over in Europe, leaving many wounded, displaced, or without sustained access to electricity, food, and water. In response, the gaming and global community have largely continued calling for help and support to those most in need and most affected by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Riot Games has now also made a large donation and launched in-game fundraisers to aid humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

According to a post from Riot on Friday, March 5, the video game company is donating $1 million to nonprofit organizations providing humanitarian relief to Ukraine and other affected areas. These three organizations are: International Medical Corps, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, and the Polish Red Cross.

Aside from this donation, Riot has launched in-game fundraisers across all of its games. From March 5 to 12, all proceeds from battle pass sales in VALORANT, Teamfight Tactics, Wild Rift, and Legends of Runeterra will be donated to the three nonprofits. In addition, all the revenue generated from purchase of the newly released Bee skin line in League of Legends will also be used to support the humanitarian efforts.

However, for players who already bought the skin before March 5, the sale unfortunately won't count. If you feel strongly about donating, you can refund the skin for tokens and purchase it again within the fundraising period so that the revenue goes toward the relief efforts.

Riot's move is the latest in a series of efforts around the gaming and esports community to respond to and show support for the Ukraine crisis. Since Russia's invasion, Ukrainian esports organization Natus Vincere has continuously posted updates about the war and shared donation links. Moreover, it cut ties with Russia-based company ESforce Holding, who owns several esports teams such as Virtus.pro. Virtus has been directly affected by ESL's decision to only allow players to compete under a neutral name without Russian affiliation.

Meanwhile, Riot has postponed matches in the EMEA VALORANT Champions Tour (currently on Stage 1 Challengers), with CIS-based teams like Gambit and FunPlus Phoenix yet to return to the stage. Big companies like Microsoft and Intel have halted operations and services in Russia, while EA Games removed Russian clubs from FIFA 22.