Humble Bundles hit $50m mark raised for charity

The Humble Bundle team has hit the $50m milestone in funds raised for various charities and non-profit organisations.

The total sum has been contributed to from all of the team’s bundles going back to its first indie bundle in 2010. The $50m is spread across more than 50 different non-profit organisations around the world.

Charities supported through the Bundle’s lifespan include the American Red Cross, the EFF, Child’s Play and Doctors without borders.

Each time a pay-what-you-want Humble Bundle launches, buyers are given the option of choosing where their money goes and can split it between the developers and charities selected for that particular bundle.

’Charity has always been an integral part of Humble Bundle,’ said a Humble team spokesperson in a message to former Bundle buyers. ’We are reminded every day how the generosity from people like you brings positive change to the world, all from the simple act of buying video games and books.’

Of the $50m raised, $3m of that was raised single handedly by EA’s Origin bundle, which broke the format of the Humble Bundles slightly by specifying that all payment would go to charity and that EA itself would not be taking a cut.

The Humble Bundle started out as an experiment in 2010 with a selection of indie games put together including World of Goo, Gish, Aquaria and Penumbra: Overture. Following the success of this first bundle, the team has since experimented with triple-A titles, ebook and music based bundles and have started putting out a weekly bundle curated by third parties.