Humble Bundle have announced an update in how their payment sliders operate, including a minimum cut for themselves.
For those unfamiliar, the Humble Bundle features sliders to allow users to dictate how their purchase is divided between the game’s publisher, charity, and Humble Bundle itself. In April the company briefly implemented fixed donation amounts, with at most 15% going to charity. After outcry (considering 100% could be given to charity), Humble Bundle apologized and reinstated the sliders.
Now Humble Bundle have announced another update to sliders. In mid-July, the new sliders will be rolled out, promising to bring “even more opportunities to support important causes.” It also comes with a new minimum cut for Humble Bundle.
“On average there will be a minimum amount for Humble Bundle between 15 – 30%.” The reason change was cited as the changing digital PC store marketplace, and needing to “evolve” to stay on mission.
“Why change after ten years? The PC storefront landscape has changed significantly since we first launched bundles in 2010, and we have to continue to evolve with it to stay on mission. The update will allow us to continue to offer great prices on amazing games, books and software all while supporting important charitable initiatives with every single purchase.”
The change also promises investment into “more exciting content so we can keep growing the Humble community which will ultimately drive more donations for charitable causes.” Charity bundles, with 100% of proceeds going to charity, will continue along with new ways to “give back” that will be created.
Humble Bundle also note that are approaching $200 million in charitable donations since they began. While initially pitched by Wolfire Games, the second bundle had seen Humble Bundle become its own company, later acquired by Ziff Davis via IGN Entertainment (though Humble Bundle operates as a separate subsidiary).
The reaction to the news on Twitter was poor; with many users commenting in reply to Humble Bundle’s tweet that they would utilize other charitable schemes that appeared in Humble Bundle’s wake (such as Fanatical). Other users also objected to Humble Bundle’s use of DRM and now this failing to make them different from competitors, and that the move was purely motivated by self-profit.
While initially focused on indie games, Humble Bundle’s success has seen AAA games, books, music, and more being sold; along with promotion of game jam titles.
