Daybreak’s charity work has paid off: This week, Extra Life and Children’s Miracle Network named Daybreak Games its Extra Life Partner of the Year for 2023, owing to the studio’s seven-year history raising a total of $650,000 for hospitals and kids. This marks the second year in a row that a core western MMORPG developer and its playerbase have taken the crown; in 2022, it was Guild Wars 2 studio ArenaNet.
Now Daybreak means to go another round, opening up its “super team” page that corrals its substudio fundraising teams (like Darkpaw and Standing Stone Games). While crediting its players for their contributions, the company explained its Extra Life mission in 2024:
“This year, as in years past, we’re back to supporting our local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital: Rady Children’s Hospital – San Diego, a nonprofit, 511-bed pediatric care facility and the region’s only pediatric trauma center. With 170 hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network, each location treats thousands of kids annually, regardless of their illness, injury, or family’s ability to pay. We are as focused as ever on helping children in need this year, so we are setting our goal even higher than before. And just like in prior years, Darkpaw Games has kicked off our fundraising with a donation of $5,000! With this being the Year of Darkpaw: An EverQuest Celebration honoring the 25th and 20th anniversaries of EverQuest and EverQuest® II, we are confident we will again cement our place as one of the greatest fundraising teams for children in need! Like previous years, we are introducing several in-game incentives for both EQ and EQII as we meet various collective donation milestones!”
That goal is $100,000, and the team is well on the way, with over $35,000 in the pot long before the November 2nd target date, thanks to the studios and top devs themselves. And as for the incentives, expect global perks like bonus experience, titles, cosmetics, and even a minipet.
📢Daybreak Games was awarded the @Extra Life Partner of the Year thanks to our community! Check out this year's incentives, let the fundraising begin! ⬇️https://t.co/NuJiEwbyyl#EQII #EverQuestII #ExtraLife4Kids #ExtraLife
— EverQuest II (@everquestii) July 22, 2024
