Microsoft introduced an initiative for Xbox One users that have allowed players to donate reward points to charity in light of the coronavirus. The coronavirus pandemic is impacting society on a global scale and with an increasing number of people feeling the fallout of the crisis, gaming developers have been donating to charities that are combatting the virus. It now seems that the continuing initiative started by Xbox has been a huge success already.
The Xbox consoles launched in North America in 2001 and since then has impressed players with continued technological innovations. Despite the continued evolutions of the consoles, many will now be focused on the impressive donation scheme where players can give 1,000 reward points as the equivalent of a dollar to the CDC Foundation which will then be matched by Microsoft. This scheme has led to hundreds of thousands being donated to the CDC Foundation who combat outbreaks around the world.
Microsoft has commented on the money raised through the initiative, "Within the first few weeks of announcing Xbox One owners can use Microsoft Rewards points to donate to the CDC Foundation, our gamer community has come together with over a hundred thousand individual donations – an incredible showing of support for the CDC Foundation contributing to hundreds of thousands of dollars donated this month by Rewards members." Players receive reward points simply by playing games, but it is impressive to see how many players took the initiative to donate their points. On the back of this success, it looks like Xbox One players will have further opportunities to donate their reward points to charitable causes.
Microsoft is set to expand this scheme that allows players to donate to the non-profit GlobalGiving and the United Nations Foundation. This scheme will include two "punchcards" that will let players donate up to $6/ 6,000 reward points. While there are plenty of plans for gaming developers to donate to charity, involving players and matching their donations is a unique way to support those doing some incredible work during the crisis. It will be interesting to see how much Xbox players manage to raise for these causes.
Many Xbox fans will be excited about the next generation of consoles and how the Xbox Series X builds on the impressive technology featured in the Xbox One. While these players wait they can donate to charity through their gaming exploits, they just need to look out for the "Support A Hero While At Home" in the featured offers section of the Xbox Store.
The "Support a Hero While At Home" initiative is live now.