Blizzard Entertainment is offering a special Pet Pack for Ukraine for World of Warcraft, teaming up with actress (and former hardcore WoW player) Mila Kunis.
Gaming companies have been active in providing relief and support to Ukraine since the invasion of Russia began. Activision Blizzard, the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment, has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine’s relief efforts, raising $300,000 within their offices as early as March 2022 for the benefit of the victims of the conflict.
The details of the special World of Warcraft Pet Pack were posted on Blizzard’s official website and shared on their social media platforms such as Twitter.
Join Mila Kunis in supporting @BluCheckUkraine and their mission to provide critical humanitarian relief in war-torn Ukraine.
Purchase the Pet Pack for Ukraine and we'll donate all proceeds to this important cause.
Available until August 29, 2023: https://t.co/R2l2unPPsO pic.twitter.com/CtBAp6FpbG
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) July 25, 2023
By purchasing the special Pet Pack for Ukraine bundle, players will receive two cute pets: Sunny and Flurky. These adorable pets feature a blue and gold color scheme that is reminiscent of Ukraine’s national flag.
Sunny is a golden retriever that will follow the WoW player avatar around and often chases her own tail and does a sleeping animation when the player is AFK for too long. Meanwhile, Flurky is a Murloc toddler who carries around a sunflower. Aside from waving around Ukraine’s national flower, Flurky will also leave a trail of flower patches on the ground when walking with the player avatar.
Note that these cute pets are exclusive to the different World of Warcraft versions. Sunny will be available for the regular World of Warcraft game. On the other hand, Flurky will be accessible for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic. Plus, while Sunny will be available immediately through the Collections inventory, players in Wrath of the Lich King Classic players will have to do a short quest.
As part of the marketing for these Pet Packs for charity, actress (and self-confessed World of Warcraft super-fan) Mila Kunis appears in a special trailer. The actress even has an Easter Egg NPC in the game (a Brewmaster Monk named "Mina Kunis" which was added in the MMO as part of the Legion expansion).
In the trailer, Kunis shares her personal experience of being raised in Ukraine and moving to the United States by 1991. She then goes on to relate her time as a WoW player and being part of the gaming community where people helped one another, and it didn’t matter who you were in the real world.
The official Blizzard promotional page for the special WoW Pet Pack provides a brief description of BlueCheck Ukraine:
BlueCheck Ukraine, co-founded by actor and activist Liev Schreiber, was launched by a collective of humanitarian crisis response experts whose mission is to quickly identify, vet, and support grassroots Ukrainian aid organizations that provide critical life-saving and humanitarian work on the ground. The organization fast-tracks urgent financial funds to partners who deliver medical care and rehabilitate damaged health facilities, evacuate and care for orphans and children with special needs, provide food, water, and shelter for people driven from their homes, take care of senior citizens, and quickly respond to many more urgent needs of Ukrainians affected by the war.
Aside from the World of Warcraft Pet Pack for Ukraine program, players using Battle.net will have the option to donate directly to BlueCheck Ukraine. This option will be available when making digital WoW transactions and is completely voluntary during checkout.
The limited edition World of Warcraft Pet Pack for Ukraine can be bought through Battle.net for $20.00. Players also have the option of giving it as a gift. Note that these pets will only be available in the game via this initiative.
The special bundle will be available from July 25 to August 29, 2023. 100% of the proceeds from the purchase of this Pet Pack will be donated to BlueCheck Ukraine.
I hope there is a big focus on protecting the kids in Ukraine. So many have been abducted it is terrible!
Nice. I can get behind this. I will help donate and do what I can to spread the word.
I had no idea that Mila was born/grew up in Ukraine!