Fall Guys raises $1 million for gamers with physical disabilities

The developer of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has announced that it’s raised $1 million for charity.

On August 17, the official Fall Guys Twitter account declared the Battle of the Brands, an online auction benefiting Special Effect. Special Effect is a U.K.-based charity that provides specialized peripherals and hardware for gamers with physical disabilities.

Within hours, gaming personalities and brand representatives all jumped in with bids that surpassed $130,000 on the first night.

On August 31, the Fall Guys tweeted out the winner — or rather, the winners. Ninja, G2 Esports, MrBeast and AimLab pooled their funds together into a joint donation that came out to $1 million.

Because the winning donation was a team effort, the grand prize of having a model made in the brand or personality’s likeness was extended to everyone in the winning donation. All four of the winners will have in-game skins made in their honor.

Special Effect was stoked by the news and celebrated by sharing a heartwarming video about the work it does. Each of the devices it designs is personalized to address a gamer’s specific needs.

People with disabilities have always been part of gaming but the advent of live streaming has given charities such as Special Effect more visibility as well as promoting awareness. Nowadays, most major games ship with a colorbilnd mode and closed captions.

The hit indie title Celeste was criticized by speedrunner Clint “Halfassisted” Lexa for the language the game used for its Assist Mode (Halfassisted can only play with one hand due to hemiparesis). Celeste developer Matt Thorson heard Halfassisted out and the team amended the preamble to be more inclusive.

Fall Guys developer Mediatonic and Special Effect were rightfully praised for their efforts to create a more inclusive gaming industry. Regardless of ability, all gamers deserve a chance to be miserable and rage over a children’s game.

If you enjoyed this story, check out In The Know’s piece on how this gaming charity has raised more money for Doctors Without Borders than any other group.

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