Itch.io's new Games for Gaza bundle is raising funds for medical care for Palestinians
Itch.io has put together a new bundle of more than 250 games to raise funds in support of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based charity founded in 1982 that "works in partnership with Palestinian communities to uphold their rights to health and dignity."
"MAP's vision is a future where all Palestinians can access an effective, sustainable and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity," the MAP website says.
"Through our programmes in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and Lebanon, we work with trusted and experienced local partners to achieve this vision. Our programmes, designed and delivered by Palestinians, provide access to essential health services and build local knowledge and skills to address Palestinian health problems. In times of humanitarian emergency, we are ready to respond rapidly with aid and assistance."
As with most Itch.io bundles, the Games for Gaze bundle is very indie, which is to say that most of the games in it are unknown to me. But that's part of the attraction: For a very low entry fee I get an avalanche of stuff from 140 different developers, the sheer volume of which pretty much guarantees that I'm going to find something interesting. I say "stuff" because it's not just videogames: There are also physical games (card games, tabletop RPGs, that sort of thing), game assets, and music collections in the bundle.
Which isn't to say it's all deep esoterica. A couple of relatively well-known games in the bundle include Nuts, the squirrel spy thriller we never knew we wanted, and Hyper Gunsport, a game that was unexpectedly orphaned just prior to release by last year's Stadia shutdown. Each of those games alone costs at least twice as much as the whole bundle. There's also something called Not the Robots, which self-describes as "this year's most exciting roguelike stealth furniture eating simulator." I don't know about you, but I am intrigued.
Itch.io's Games for Gaza bundle can be had for $10, although you can pay more if you'd like to throw in for a good cause. It's already well past its $15,000 goal, which means another goal is no doubt on the way. The bundle will be available until November 9.