Overwatch 2’s Pink Mercy campaign raised over $12 million for breast cancer research

Blizzard’s second Overwatch 2 Pink Mercy campaign raised $12.3 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and will help fund new research and development

Blizzard

Blizzard’s second Overwatch 2 Pink Mercy campaign raised $12.3 million for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and will help fund new research and development. Blizzard brought the Pink Mercy skin back for the second time in summer 2024 to raise money for BCRF, and between this second run and the first time Pink Mercy appeared in 2018, Blizzard raised a total of $25 million.

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“We are profoundly moved by the incredible support this campaign received,” Donna McKay, BCRF president and CEO, said in a press release. “This milestone not only highlights the strength of the Overwatch community––uniting players to raise funds for breast cancer research––but also underscores the immense difference that collective impact can make.This generous contribution and electric partnership with Blizzard will drive lifesaving discoveries and bring us closer to breakthroughs that will save lives and end breast cancer.”

Blizzard and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation will announce specific research areas this latest round of funding will enable at a later date, but listed several research endeavors the 2018 round of funding helped make possible.

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• Development of advanced AI methods for analyzing mammogram images, to more accurate breast cancer risk assessments compared to standard practices
• Creation of predictive models for identifying the development of triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of the disease
• The identification of drugs that can delay tumor formation in some patients
• The development of a gene classifier that strongly predicts the risk of invasive breast cancer for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), otherwise known as Stage 0, which often leaves too many patients wondering if the noninvasive cells known as DCIS will progress to breast cancer

While the first campaign featured only the Pink Mercy skin, 2024’s Pink Mercy campaign included the original skin and a new Rose Gold Mercy skin bundle. All proceeds from these purchases, minus platform fees, went to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.