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Humble Indie Bundle 2 generates over $1.8 million in revenues [Update]

The second incarnation of the Humble Indie Bundle is now over and, thanks in part to the organizers extending the deadline by five days, the latest "pay what you want" indie game bundle brought in $1,815,934.53 in revenues for the five indie games (Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans) plus two charities (Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play). The six games from the first Humble Indie Bundle were added later in the week if people donated more than the average per-person amount.

More detailed financial stats will be revealed later but the average per donation was $7.80 with Windows users averaging $6.63, Mac users averaging $9.25 and Linux users donating an average of $13.75. The largest single donation was made by an anonymous bidder who gave $5,555.

Update: There's been some updates to the site since we posted. The final revenue number is now $1,822,482.80. Plus a person calling himself "Nexus Scorpion" is the new number one contributor with $6,132.96.

Humble Indie Bundle 2 now includes games from original bundle

The team at the Humble Indie Bundle have been generating a lot of money already with the second batch of games with its 'pay what you want" business model. But now the team has upped the anty. The Humble Indie Bundle 2 now includes all of the games from the first Humble Indie Bundle.

Yes, you can get all of the bundle's current games (Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans) plus all of the game's in the original bundle (World of Goo, Gish, Aquaria, Penumbra Overture, and Lugaru HD plus the freebie Samorset 2). People who have bought Bundle 2 can download the Bundle 1 games now. People who have yet to purchase Bundle 2 can get the Bundle 1 games if they pay more than the current average which is currently $7.35. Paying $7.35 to get a whopping 10 great indie games (plus one freebie) is still a massive bargain.

Humble Indie Bundle 2 end date extended to Christmas Day

The Humble Indie Bundle 2 has now generated over $1 million in revenue since the "pay what you want" indie PC game downlad event launched about six days ago. It was supposed to end on Tuesday but now it looks like the second Humble Indie Bundle 2 is getting an extension.

According to the bundle's Twitter page the date has been moved back a few days as its organizers "work on adding some new features." According to the Humblebundle.com page it is now scheduled to end on Christmas Day around 6 pm Eastern time. That means you still have time to donate a few bucks (or over $3,000 like one person did) to get five indie games (Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans) plus donate to two charities (Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play).

Humble Indie Bundle 2 reaches $1 milllion mark; games can be redeemed on Steam

The second round of the Humble Indie Bundle has continued to generate an incredible amount of revenues for a "pay what you want" model. On Saturday evening the revenues breached the $1 million mark as gamers continue to donate what they can for five indie games along with two charities and the Humble Bundle organizers themselves.

Another new development is that the games can now be redeemed by Humble Indie Bundle owners via two download services: Steam and the newer service Desura. Two of the games have yet to show up on Steam (Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans) but they will be made available to Humble Indie Bundle buyers when they launch on Steam. There are still two more days for the Humble Indie Bundle; it's scheduled to end on Tuesday, December 21 at 4 pm Eastern time.

Humble Indie Bundle 2 nets $500,000 in first 24 hours

It's been just one day since the launch of the "pay what you want" return of the Humble Indie Bundle but so far it looks like this second effort to highlight indie games will be an even bigger success than the first such effort. According to the web site the revenues from Humble Indie Bundle 2 have generated just over $500,000 in just the first 24 hours. Nearly 70,000 purchases have been made to get five indie games (Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Cortex Command and Revenge of the Titans) with an average of just over $7 per purchase (together, the games normally sell for about $85). It's currently unknown how much money has been given to each game. It's also unknown how much was contributed to the two charities (Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play) or to a tip for the Humble Bundle organizers.

Some people have spent well over that average to get these games. One of them is Markus "Notch" Persson, the creator of the indie hit Minecraft. According to the site he's currently the person who has spent the most with a massive $2,000 contribution. The bundle deal still has a lot of life left in it; it's currently scheduled to shut down on December 21.

The Witness makes first (sneaky) apperance at PAX Prime

Well over a year ago, Braid creator Jonathan Blow revealed the title for his next indie game, The Witness. Last March he posted up some pseudo-screenshots from the indie adventure-puzzle title set on an uninhabited island. As it turns out, the game made its first public appearance at PAX Prime 2010 this past weekend with no advanced warning.

An early build of the game was placed around some other indie titles with no signage or goofy promo hype and open to anyone who wanted to play it. Blow states on his blog site, "I wanted people to be able to play the game for as long as they want, not feeling pressured to stop playing because of a huge line of antsy people waiting behind them." The experiment seems to have worked as Blow states, "People tended to play for a long time, and they liked what they played." Kotaku has posted up some impressions of The Witness which is due for release in late 2011.

GamersGate launches fourth and final summer sales week

All good things end and so does GamersGate's 2010 summer sales event. Today is the fourth and final week for the PC game download site's series of price cuts. For the final hurrah the site has decided to cut prices on a number of indie-themed games by as much as 75 percent.

Just some of the big deals you can get at GamersGate for the next week include Braid for just $3.99 (both PC and Mac versions), World of Goo for $6.79, Osmos for $3.99, A Kingdom for Keflings for $6.79, Flotilla for just $3.39 and Zombie Driver for a mere $2.49.

Direct2Drive brings back its Indie Games Bundle sale

If you wanted to get into the indie games scene but were afraid to do so, Direct2Drive has just revised its Indie Games Bundle sale for its customers. For a limited time you can get 10 of the most well known and acclaimed indie games in one shot for just $29.95. That's compared to a price of $134.50 if you had to buy each game individually.

The games in the bundle include World of Goo, Puzzlegeddon, Gish, The Maw, Braid, Cogs, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Osmos, Machinarium and Crayon Physics Deluxe. All of the above games are good in our opinion and some are true classics. It's a deal that you don't have to steal.

Indie Fund now accepting submissions from indie game developers

Last March a group of successful indie game developers, including the two man team of 2D Boy (makers of World of Goo) and Jonathan Blow (the creator of Braid) announced plans to launch Indie Fund, a venture designed to help fund the making of promising indie games. Today the Indie Fund web site launched its application process allowing development teams to submit their games for possible funding by the organization.

The submission process requires not only a description of the game but also a video that shows in-game footage from the title. Indie Fund plans to give out money to five or six games over the next two to three years although the venture could raise more money for a second round of funding if the first is deemed successful.

Indie Fund launched to help fund indie game projects

The independent game development community has seen some major success stories in the past few years with small and even one-man teams creating PC games that have been both popular and received critical acclaim. Now a number of the more successful indie game developers are teaming up to create a new source of money for their fellow developers.

The venture is called simple Indie Fund and was established to help "indie developers get financially independent and stay financially independent." The seven backers of the fund include the two man team of 2D Boy, makers of World of Goo and Jonathan Blow, the creator of Braid. Gamasutra has some more info about Indie Fund from its spokesperson Ron Carmel of 2D Boy. More info about the venture will be announced next week at the Game Developers Conference. The first game projects to receive funding from Indie Fund will be announced "soon".
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