The first Humble Indie Bundle launched with admirable intentions -- provide some greats indie games that some gamers may never heard of without DRM, and let gamers pay what they want to either the developers or to charity. Humble purposes aside, the Bundle was an extraordinary success, bringing in almost $1.3 million dollars from about 140,000 different users.

That was seven months ago and now, just in time for the holidays, the Humble Indie Bundle 2 has just become available. Included in this pack are indie darlings Braid, Machinarium and Osmos, along with the addition of two newly available indie games Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans. Much like the original, when purchasing the bundle any price will do, and the payment can then be spread in whatever ratio you please between: the game developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child's Play or the Humble Indie Bundle organization itself.Showing just how charitable gamers are, in the Humble Indie Bundle 2's first 24 hours it raised over $500,000 and is now above $600,000. Almost 80,000 gamers have purchased the bundle at an average price of  $7.26. At first, that may not seem like a much for five great games, but given the scope of project any amount of money given is appreciated. Considering that the first bundle ran for over ten days, it would be a safe bet that the HIB2 will break the earning record by a huge amount. Don't wait though, because the bundle could end any day!

Each of the games in the Humble Indie Bundle are available on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. An interesting statistic has always been seeing which operating system donates the most money for the pack. The current spread is as follows:

  • Average Windows: $6.03
  • Average Mac: $8.20
  • Average Linux: $13.65

As with the original Humble Bundle, Linux users pay almost as much for the package as Windows and Mac users combined. Whether Linux gamers consider the availability of the bundle more of a privilege, or if they're more charitable, or if they simply have more disposable income, it's good to see the bundle making profits.

Since this is my article, I'm going to take advantage of my power and say if you haven't played Machinarium then you have to purchase this bundle ASAP. It was one of my top games of 2009, and it will blow you away. Braid is great too, but I'm a huge fan of Machinarium and you should be too.

Interested in the Humble Indie Bundle 2, Ranters? Which games catch your eye, and how does it compare to the World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra: Overture combination from the first Bundle?

Purchase the Humble Indie Bundle 2 here, for your PC, Mac or Linux box. It's for a great cause -- indie games!