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Smilegate sends 10m yuan donation to Wuhan

Korean game companies pour donations for those affected by novel coronavirus

By Lim Jeong-yeo

Published : Feb. 6, 2020 - 11:45

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Cross Fire and Lost Ark games from Smilegate (Smilegate) Cross Fire and Lost Ark games from Smilegate (Smilegate)

Game company Smilegate said Thursday it made a 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) donation to help the people in Wuhan, China, epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The donation has been delivered to China’s Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming.

“China and Korea are long-time neighbors who must help each other to overcome hardships. I thank the support from Smilegate, as well as many other Korean companies,” the envoy said.

Smilegate is the third Korean game company to reach out a helping hand in the face of the spreading novel coronavirus.

PUBG, the company behind the Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds game, donated 3 million yuan to the Chinese Red Cross.

“Although the Battlegrounds game has not been officially released in China due to the government screening process, several millions of Chinese users are playing it through the Steam platform,” PUBG said, thanking the Chinese fans and wishing them quick recovery.

WeMade, the company behind The Legend of Mir 2, also gave 1 million yuan, to the Hubei Charity Federation.

The Legend of the Mir 2 has been in service in China since 2001, and is one of the core intellectual property for games in China.

The company said it is also delivering masks to its offices in China and Chinese partner firms.

Meanwhile, the game industry is also paying close attention to the situation in Korea.

Smilegate has tied up with the Korean Red Cross to support the Koreans who were evacuated from Wuhan.

At their temporary domicile in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, and Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Smilegate is supplying them with books, health supplements, masks and hand sanitizers.

Korea Game Society is fundraising amongst Korean gamers to help people in Wuhan, saying that improved situation in the epicenter of the virus will help resolve the issues elsewhere.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)