ǝɔʎoɹsᴉxǝlɐ

Hello friends,

After less than 4 months of prep work and 5 weeks of our sale, The Power of Pride Bundle 2026 has officially drawn to a close. Let's review the numbers:

396 total projects

284 total contributors

240 of them opted into revenue

2,523 bundles sold

$73,434.85 raised

$305.97 estimated payout per opt-in contributor, before fees and taxes 

Amidst numerous layoffs in the AAA games industry and a global recession affecting those most vulnerable, this is a meaningful injection of direct financial aid that keeps queer voices in the conversation. A US Federal Reserve Survey found that the average person in the USA would have trouble covering a $400 emergency, so this amount of money adds a buffer allowing a marginalized community the peace of mind required to keep creating. While this number does not match some of the massive highs of the late Queer Games Bundle, we are in many regards a new project that came together as quickly as circumstances allowed us to, and have to build a certain amount of recognition from the ground up.

Running a bundle is never easy, especially one of this size and scale, and even more so on the tight 15-week schedule we were given. When the original QGB Team announced on February 12, 2026 that it would not return, we quickly gathered a group of dedicated people who could organize this ambitious new bundle in time for June. Many of our team members either dropped all their personal projects to commit to the cause or juggled several obligations while laboring tirelessly to coordinate this large-scale mutual aid effort. This work included review of applications, back-and-forth emails with multiple parties, designing and iterating graphics, and so much more. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been poured into making sure the mission continues: to meaningfully empower and pay queer creators on itchio during Pride Month beyond the cheap platitudes of awareness and recognition.

None of this work could have been accomplished alone. It truly took a team effort from everyone involved to make this happen, from the organizing team itself, leafo and the itchio staff for implementing new bundle tools to make the process much more streamlined moving forward, the original Queer Games Bundle Team for pioneering grassroots mutual aid bundles and passing us the torch, our participants who placed their faith in us and contributed their projects, the streamers, reviewers, and journalists we partnered with who showcased us, the folks who talked about and shared the bundle on social media and recommended it to their friends, all those who picked up a copy of the bundle for themselves, and to you for taking a moment to read this update and celebrate this massive accomplishment with us. We hope that you've been able to find a few things in this year's bundle that touched your heart and soul, because we know that we certainly did.

Times are scary for everyone. Fascism is well and alive, our rights continue to be stripped away, and our siblings across the globe face genocide from the corrupt elite. We know not what the future holds, but whatever it is, queer people will persist and continue to fight for our right to thrive. This bundle is an example of that.

Stay hopeful, stay kind, and walk with us, because all we have left is each other.

In solidarity,

STATEMENT FROM MAHO! CODY, MEDIA STRATEGIST What's up, gamers?!

The 2026 Power of Pride Bundle is now at an end, raising just about $300 each for a group who (to quote our marketing) will likely use it to get groceries. I hope, on their next trip, they find something nice and don't have to worry about if it's on sale.

For my first-ever stint as a bundle volunteer, I took up the role of "Media Strategist," which essentially was building a framework for outreach while letting the queer people handle the actual outreach. It was a balance of lending my project management expertise while keeping the center focus on the needs of the queer community featured in the bundle. I got through 5 seasons of Columbo just handling the media contact spreadsheet. It was a lot of work! I'm very impressed by the tenacity of the team and our ability to get everything moving in time for June. Now that we've established what Power of Pride is supposed to be, I think we're in a good position to do even better with more notice, more experience, and more planning.

Some of you might be asking, "Cody, you're a straight white cis male. And because of your straightness, and your non-commercial agreement with SAG-AFTRA, you can't even monetize Defeat the Darkness DATE! (voice acting update available now!). Why are you making all this effort to put money in the hands of queer people?"

It's no secret what our administration is trying to do. There are more bills in US legislature about trans athletes than there are actual trans athletes. We watch mobile games like Zenless Zone Zero and Clash of Clans blatantly fetishize their characters while real sex workers and porn artists are sidelined by payment processors inserting themselves as extra-governmental arbiters of what is and is not acceptable. We watch Elon Musk, the world's richest man, poison the air and water of a suburb in Tennessee so his false god can generate nude images of real people without their consent while these same payment processors turn a blind eye. We are witnessing the 1% flagrantly press their boot on our autonomy and our freedom to create.

I've read the poem. First They Came. And first, our administration has come for the trans people and the immigrants. And I said, "Fuck that, this world is way better with trans people and immigrants in it!" Anyone who's had Korean BBQ would agree. Anyone who's watched a movie from the Disney Renaissance would agree. Anyone who, like me, was stuck at a family function with The Big Bang Theory on nonstop loop because it was "Agreeable" will agree with me.

The tech fascists can't agree with the christofascists about the role of AI. Other right-wing governments can't agree with the US on porn (Japan) or have fallen apart (Hungary). Do the racist among the poor in the US find themselves in a better place this year, as Trump has only allowed in white immigrants from South Africa? Doubtful.

The future is still struggling to be formed. The UK's recent anti-trans and anti-privacy legislation has not been positive, but there's plenty of hope and potential in tomorrow for those willing to look.

Today sucks, but tomorrow might not.

Only one way to find out…

Be there.

And for the love of God, try something from the bundle before you expose yourself to The Big Bang Theory.

Thank you to all staff/volunteers/partners who made this possible.

In solidarity,

day 288

this is not life-threatening, but also who wants weeks of diarrhea and a fucking parasite in them lol. if you suspect you've already had this and it's passed, i would see a doctor. you might need an antiparasitic anyway. if you're actively sick, see a doctor and they might be able to prescribe medication to help you get over it faster.

try to avoid eating raw vegetables, scrub fruit with a produce brush and rinse thoroughly with water. again, don't bother with premade greens or bagged salads. if you buy lettuce, remove the outer 2-3 layers of leaves.

Misogyny permanently alters your life path.

There are binary trans men who pass today who still suffer from after-effects of fgm which a lot of the time cannot be cured.

There are binary trans men who pass today who do not have the basic education needed to advance in the modern world.

There are binary trans men who pass today who cannot walk/are permanently disabled by misogynistic practices in their youth.

There are binary trans men who pass today who will live in poverty forever because they were forced into marriages young

There are binary trans men who pass today who will never achieve their dreams because they were not allowed to play instruments or sport or early life skills that cannot be 'caught up' later in life

There are binary trans men who pass today who cannot have children because of reproductive violence

There are binary trans men who pass today who missed out on critical promotion years because they were forced to be wives/mothers

And this is not a #sadcore #never transition post, because all this stuff does not mean that you cannot live a happy and fufilling life, it does not mean that there isn't joy in transitioning or that the world is hopeless.

This idea that in order to be a happy man you must deny the role of misogyny in your life is such an insidious lie because it forces trans activists to either shove every single one of these men (plus all the ones who dont even pass/transition/know they're trans now) under the bus, or discourage young boys from transitioning.

Hint: Pretty much everyone chooses the 'lets throw these trans men under the bus and blot their brains out to the reality of transmasculinity' option.

Literally. Some of you heard this quote 'How many Einstein’s have spent their lives washing dishes, how many Mozart’s bent over stoves instead of pianos, because they had the misfortune of being born a woman?' and said: But the moment you find out you're a man it can all go away!

Anyway this is getting long and disjointed but my point is basically summed up with: misogyny permanently alters your life path and there is not such thing as 'graduating' from the affects of systematic oppression