The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has shut down schools, businesses, and large public gathering spaces all around the world, which has led to various organizations like Rockstar Games starting up efforts to help raise money to both find a cure and to provide relief for those who have been affected. Few gaming franchises have quite as wide a global reach as 343 Industries' Halo, which just announced that its efforts have thus far spurred fans to raise over $430,000.
This money, which will go toward different campaigns via the crowdfunding site GlobalGiving, was raised through two ventures: Purchasing the Relief & Recovery REQ Pack in Halo 5, which was available through April 30 and offered players five permanent cosmetics of ultra-rare or better rarity and 10 boost cards; and purchasing MegaThread's HALO Relief T-Shirt for $24.95, a campaign which ended on April 21. The REQ Pack supported the Coronavirus Relief Fund set up by GlobalGiving's Disaster Recovery Network, while the T-Shirt supported the International Rescue Committee's Coronavirus Crisis Response.
The Halo team's efforts have been part of a larger pattern of campaigning seen by various facets of Microsoft as a whole. One donation drive put in place through the Xbox One homepage has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the CDC Foundation by allowing Xbox players to donate the in-game reward points they've received to charity.
Efforts to raise money for coronavirus relief have also extended to individuals associated with Microsoft and the Halo franchise in particular. Throughout the month of April Master Chief's voice actor Steve Downes donated his Cameo earnings to Project C.U.R.E., providing fans the opportunity to receive personal messages by Master Chief for a good cause.
Xbox is also currently part of phase one of the 2020 Summer Game Fest which has been organized by Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley in an attempt to create a four-month long celebration of gaming that will include new reveals and demos. The event is being developed as a result of numerous conventions like E3 2020 being cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
With all of these efforts on various fronts, Microsoft has garnered a lot of good will in the lead-up to the release of its next-generation console, the Xbox Series X. One of the major selling points for that console is the upcoming Halo: Infinite, which unfortunately has also run into trouble as the Halo team works from home due to the coronavirus.
Sources: Microsoft, MegaThreads