Planting trees is always a good thing, whether it’s in the real world or in the sci-fi survivalbox Astroneer, but now those two benefits are going to hold hands thanks to an updated EXO Cares Initiative event that challenges players to plant digital trees so a meatspace charity can get a helpful donation.
The annual event brings with it the community goal of placing 10M trees in players’ save files. If the goal is met, then developer System Era will send a $5,000 donation to Conservation Northwest, an organization that focuses on “protecting, connecting, and restoring wildlands and wildlife” in the northwestern United States. Players are advised to exercise caution, however, as placing multiple thousands of trees in one space could cause saves to be unstable.
The EXO Cares event otherwise has new toppables that can be created by combining organic and scrap in the Small Printer (the placement of which will incidentally count towards the tree planting community goal), the returning objective of cleaning planets in return for scrap, and some new cosmetics that include an extremely powerful mullet head decoration.
The EXO C.A.R.E.S. Initiative is back and better than ever! Play now until June 30th to experience new content, earn new rewards, and help contribute to our community goal. At 10,000,000 in-game trees planted, we’ll be dropping a $5,000 donation to Conservation Northwest! pic.twitter.com/nOBGdBHZAJ
— ASTRONEER 🎛️🎚️🛠️ (@astroneergame) April 15, 2024
