John Romero's new Doom 2 level raises over $29,000 for Ukraine

Doom 2 - One Humanity
(Image credit: id Software (John Romero))

Correction: Based on a tweet by John Romero, this report originally stated that the funds raised by sales of the One Humanity map would be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. The money was actually donated to the Irish Red Cross, which was holding a similar campaign in support of Ukraine at the same time.

Last week, Doom co-creator John Romero released a new level for Doom 2—his first since 1994—to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. It's a simple deal: The map, called One Humanity, is €5 (Romero is based in Ireland now, but that works out to about $4.35), and all funds raised will go to support people suffering under the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It's a small individual amount, but it adds up—to more than €27,000 ($29,500) so far.

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Romero's effort to support the people of Ukraine is one of many that have been undertaken by the game industry since Russia launched its invasion on February 24. 11 Bit Studios, All In Games and The Farm 51, CD Projekt, GOG, Bungie, Amanita Design, 4A Games, Digital Extremes, Facepunch Studios, and others have all pledged significant donations to aid agencies working in the country, and yesterday Itch.io launched its Bundle for Ukraine, a massive collection of nearly 1,000 games that's raising funds for International Medical Corps and Voices of Children. Most major game publishers have also stopped selling games in Russia.

The "One Humanity" map remains available for purchase at romero.com if you haven't picked it up yet—you'll need a valid copy of Doom 2 and a modern source port to make it run.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.