The past few weeks have seen a number of game companies put their money where their mouth is in regards to support of Black causes. And while there is still a ways to go in combating the likes of online harassment and toxicity in the digital world, two major publishers are donating to help out in the real world. Announced today on its social media pages, both Capcom and Bethesda Softworks announced their support for Black communities, both in statements and in monetary support to Black causes. While Capcom’s post said “Capcom USA will be making financial donations to support this fight. We will also double match employee donations and offer employees a paid day off for volunteer work,” Bethesda has promised “Immediate financial support in the amount of $250,000 for organizations engaged in the fight for racial justice.”
https://t.co/lsYzyYBtjR pic.twitter.com/rYgFPuYHKU
— Bethesda (@bethesda) June 10, 2020
A blog post by Bethesda further explained the company’s actions to move forward, which includes the development of mentorship programs, reoccuring and mandatory training on bias, sensitivity, and allyship, and an annual global service day for all employees that encourages the support of Black and diverse communities. “But as we all have seen in the past month, words are not enough. Our collective eyes have been opened to the realities and unfair treatment that people of color face every day, and we must do everything in our power to help. We can do better. And we will.”
The Capcom announce came as an addendum to the news on June 3 that it would be postponing this year’s iteration of the Capcom Pro Tour Online. Important to note that, in regards to the Bethesda announcement, the blog post was only sent out to the American-focused Bethesda page, and while the protests in the past weeks are certainly focused on the issues Black Americans face it is by no means localized to only our country. Bethesda closed the post with “Effecting real change in the face of deep-rooted, systemic discrimination will not be easy, but our commitment is unwavering.”
