Madden 19 developer Electronic Arts will donate $1 million to the victims of the shooting in Jacksonville that left two players dead and 11 people injured.
Eli “Trueboy” Clayton and Taylor “spotmeplzzz” Robertston were killed on Sunday when a fellow competitor opened fire on the Madden Championship Series qualifier in the GLHF Game Bar in Jacksonville, Florida. In a statement posted to Twitter, an EA representative wrote that the events in Jacksonville “will impact the gaming community forever.”
— Electronic Arts (@EA) August 30, 2018
Related: Madden Commissioner: The Championship Series will return following Jacksonville shooting
“We can’t begin to understand the pain so many are going through nor do we pretend to have all the answers that will help us through the healing process,” the company wrote. “But as is so often the case, our community inspires us. The way you are coming together, and the outpouring of support for all those affected by this tragedy, is incredibly uplifting. We want to join you.”
The developer has set up a fund, the Jacksonville Tribute, which will be used to support the victims, including the families for Clayton and Robertson. The first contribution to the fund is the $1 million donation by EA itself.
A livestream will be held on Sept. 6 to honor the victims of the event. “We’ve heard from so many of you that you would like to support the victims, and to show that this horrific event will not define us, but only serve to make our community stronger,” EA wrote. “We’re already working with many of you to help make this happen through the livestream.”
More details about the livestream event will be released “very soon.”
In the wake of the shooting, EA canceled the remaining qualifying events for the Madden Classic tournament, all of which were scheduled throughout the rest of September—the earliest of which was this upcoming weekend in Dulles, Virginia. But the Madden Championship will return, Madden commissioner Matt Marcou wrote in a statement to the community.
“The following is certain: the Madden NFL Championship Series will return,” Marcou wrote. “We love this game and this community.”
