Island Saver, the free multiplatform clean-em-up from Stormcloud and NatWest, has raised over £74,000 for charity through sales of downloadable content (DLC).
The game itself is entirely free (not free-to-play) and available for PC, console and mobile. Originally released in May 2020, and aimed at an audience aged six to 13, the game found far greater acceptance around the world. A year after release Island Saver had cruised past three million downloads and is still proving popular with players of all ages.
As well as financial concepts, the game also contains a strong environmental message, as players must clean up the archipelago of islands and recycle plastic in order to earn money.
Stormcloud released two separate downloadable content packs for the game, Dinosaur Island and Fantasy Island, both of which were premium content, but with a low ‘pocket money’ price point (around £4). All of the net income from the DLC was split between Special Effect and Young Money.
To date, the game has donated over £74,000 to the charities, with the content packs continuing to sell across all platforms.
Tom Donegan, Fundraising and Communications Team Leader at SpecialEffect, said:
We get to see the positive impact of gaming every day through our work helping people with physical disabilities to enjoy the magic of video games. We’re delighted to be a beneficiary of this innovative new project and want to take this opportunity to thank Natwest and Stormcloud for their support.”
Frank Arnott, the CEO of Stormcloud, said:
I am absolutely delighted that in addition to entertaining and engaging millions of players with money-related lessons, sales of Island Saver DLC have raised almost £75k for two wonderful charities – Special Effect and Young Money.
Special Effect undertakes absolutely terrific work and has particular place in the hearts of everyone within the games industry and wider gaming community. While Young Money’s programmes really help young people realise their potential through real-world financial education.
Island Saver was a fantastic project to be involved with and NatWest are really to be commended for their forward thinking approach of creating a free, console quality video game as part of their MoneySense program, and for their support of these two charities.
Caroline Edwards, Financial Capability Lead, Sustainable Banking, NatWest, said:
NatWest is delighted that the ongoing success of Island Saver and its DLCs means we can continue to support the charities Young Money and SpecialEffect both of which help young people to realise their potential. There have been almost 3.5 million downloads of Island Saver since launch and this year we received the coveted ‘Mumsnet Rated’ status meaning parents recommend it too.
Island Saver is available – entirely free – for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android and PC. The Dinosaur Island Saver and Fantasy Island Saver content packs are available across every platform and every sale will donate more money to the charity partners.
You can read our case study, created in partnership with InGAME, about the design and development of Island Saver here.
Download Island Saver for your preferred platform here.
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