Overwatch’s limited edition charity skin raised $12.7 million for BCRF in 2018 and is being renewed this month to fund more life-saving research
Players have been tweeting, DMing, and petitioning, and it’s finally here: BCRF and Overwatch® 2 are teaming up to bring back Pink Mercy. Overwatch 2’s “Mercy for a Cause” campaign, launching June 25, will fund life-saving breast cancer research through sales of two limited edition skins (alternative versions of a character’s clothing, gear, or appearance), including the original Pink Mercy.
“Blizzard is thrilled to work with BCRF again, bringing attention and funding to such an important cause,” said Johanna Farris, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “Overwatch recently passed the milestone of 100 million lifetime players, and we hope our amazing community will once again come together to help support BCRF’s critical work while showcasing these beautiful skins in-game.”
In 2018, Overwatch and BCRF launched the first charity partnership in Overwatch history. The two-week campaign was a huge hit with the players, whose support and enthusiasm enabled a donation of $12.7 million to BCRF – the largest donation to the Foundation at the time.
“Overwatch’s innovation in the gaming industry mirrors the innovation BCRF is promoting in research to eradicate breast cancer,” said BCRF President and CEO Donna McKay. “We are at a critical turning point as breast cancer cases continue to rise and there is more work to be done. We are excited to renew this collaboration to see how we can continue to drive change and save lives together.”
Between June 25 and July 8, Overwatch 2 players can purchase the original Pink Mercy ($14.99) and a new Rose Gold Mercy Bundle ($19.99). One hundred percent of the purchase prices of these products, excluding all applicable platform fees and taxes, will be donated to BCRF.
In 2018, the millions of Blizzard and Overwatch players helped spur research that touched the entire spectrum of the disease. In addition to supporting new clinical trials and BCRF research grants in BCRF focus areas, this gift launches BCRF’s Precision Prevention Initiative (PPI), which brings precision medicine to breast cancer prevention through innovation in assessment and detecting breast cancer risk and developing early interventions for a disease that goes beyond surgery.
With this incredible support, PPI-funded researchers have been able to:
- Develop advanced AI methods to analyze mammographic images and support more accurate breast cancer risk assessment
- Identify drugs that could potentially slow tumor formation
- Create a tool that predicts a patient’s risk of ductal carcinoma in situ (also known as DCIS or stage 0 breast cancer because it’s not invasive) will progress to full-blown invasive breast cancer
- Test models that can better predict how triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms, will develop
This 2024 campaign couldn’t come at a more important time for breast cancer. Although we have made incredible advances in treatment, diagnoses are increasing, devastating disparities persist, and metastatic breast cancer remains incurable. The only way to reduce the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer is to prevent the disease from taking root in the first place.
“If we can identify which patients are at highest risk, we can develop interventions tailored to that patient so that we can stop breast cancer before it occurs,” said BCRF Chief Scientific Officer Dr. r Doraya El-Ashri. “Support from Overwatch helped us launch this vision, and now the Overwatch 2 2024 campaign will help us take this work even further.”
Learn more about Blizzard and BCRF’s 2024 partnership here and find BCRF streaming resources here.
