Rockstar Games has announced that GTA Online and Red Dead Online will be closed for two hours today, from 2 pm ET to 4 pm ET today, "to honor the legacy of George Floyd." Floyd was killed on May 25 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, an incident that sparked ongoing protests against police violence and racism across the US and around the world.
Black Lives Matter. To honor the legacy of George Floyd, today, 6/4/20, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET, we will be shutting down access to our online games, Grand Theft Auto Online and Red Dead Online.June 4, 2020
Rockstar also encouraged its fans to support civil rights organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, and the National Black Child Development Institute, through the Charity Navigator website.
According to Kotaku, other Take-Two games will also go offline to show support for Black Lives Matter, including NBA 2K, Dragon City, and Monster Legends.
Taking games offline for a couple of hours on a Thursday afternoon is only a gesture, and as for material support 2K Games said yesterday that it is increasing funding to its 2K Foundations program by an additional $1 million, and "expanding its mission to help fight racial injustice and inequalities in black communities around the globe."
pic.twitter.com/7tYrq6f292June 4, 2020
2K launched the program in 2018 in partnership with Microsoft, "to support underserved communities across the nation."
Other publishers and gaming organizations making donations to Black Lives Matter and related causes including Humble Bundle, Ubisoft, Devolver Digital, Electronic Arts, Games Done Quick, and Itch.io.