$5.2m raised in Yogscast's Jingle Jam
2.5m people watched 700 hours of charity livestreams in December
Digital video collective Yogscast has announced the results of its annual Jingle Jam, a livestream event that raises money for charity.
Fundraising centred around a Yogscast-curated Humble Bundle, featuring more than 60 games and items from over 50 developers and publishers. The bundle was worth £630 ($850) but could be purchased for a donation of just £26 ($35).
The Yogscast team showcased some of these games via 700 hours worth of broadcast content, which attracted an audience of over 2.5m people watching a total of 6.8m hours (or 779 years).
The event encouraged 148,853 donations and raised $5,245,772 for charity.
Viewers were able to choose from a selection of charities when purchasing the Humble Bundle. While there were 3,000 to choose from, Yogscast preselected seven organisations as the main partners for the event.
These included Special Effect, Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, Save The Children, Cancer Research, the Mental Health Foundation, the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Intersex Association, and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
Since the Yogscast Jingle Jam started six years ago, the event has raised over $11m. Unsurprisingly, the $5.2m raised last month marks a new record for the team.
"It's utterly mind-blowing and so much more than we had anticipated," says Yogscast CEO Mark Turpin. "but we couldn't do it without the support of the developers and publishers who donate their games to the Bundle every year."
Yogscast co-founder Lewis Brindley adds, "Every year we think that people can't give any more and every year it gets bigger and bigger and that's all down to the incredible community who not only donate but they also help to organise and publicise the Jingle Jam."