Humble Choice November 2023 Featured Charity: What Really Happened with Child’s Play

Humble Choice November 2023 Featured Charity: What Really Happened with Child’s Play

So, you’re looking back at the Humble Choice November 2023 featured charity. It’s funny how these things work. We usually focus on the games—the big Steam keys, the "is it worth the twelve bucks?" debate, the backlog we'll never finish. But that month was actually a pretty massive milestone for the "good" side of the Humble mission.

The featured charity was Child’s Play.

If you’ve been in the gaming scene for more than a minute, you know that name. But November 2023 wasn't just another month on the calendar for them. It was their 20th anniversary. Think about that. Two decades of gamers proving they aren't just "basement dwellers" but people who actually give a damn.

Why Child’s Play Was the Perfect Pick

Honestly, the timing was perfect. Child’s Play was a founding partner of Humble Bundle way back in 2010. By the time the November 2023 bundle rolled around, the Humble community had already raised over $10 million for them.

That’s not chump change.

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Child's Play doesn't just "give money to kids." They have a very specific, tech-focused mission. They outfit more than 200 partner hospitals worldwide with consoles, iPads, and games. But it’s deeper than just "here’s a Mario game to distract you."

They actually fund Therapeutic Gaming Specialists. These are real humans whose entire job is to use games as a clinical tool. Maybe it’s helping a kid move their arm again after surgery by playing a Wii-style game. Maybe it’s using a VR headset to distract a patient during a painful procedure so they don't need as much sedation. It’s high-tech empathy.

The Games That Fueled the Cause

You can't talk about the Humble Choice November 2023 featured charity without looking at the lineup that actually brought in the donations. It was a weirdly diverse month. Some people loved it; some called it a "pass."

  • WWE 2K23: The "big" headliner.
  • Hardspace: Shipbreaker: A zen-like (but stressful) space salvage sim.
  • Unpacking: A literal masterpiece of environmental storytelling.
  • Prodeus: Old-school boomer shooter vibes.
  • Friends vs Friends: A card-based PvP shooter.
  • The Legend of Tianding: A side-scrolling beat 'em up about a Taiwanese folk hero.
  • SCP: Secret Files: Creepiness and lore-heavy exploration.
  • Souldiers: A Metroidvania that had some balance issues but looked gorgeous.

It’s a bit ironic, isn't it? You’re playing Unpacking—a game that is basically therapy in digital form—while your subscription money is going to fund actual therapy for kids in hospitals.

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The $250 Million Milestone

Around this same window of late 2023 and early 2024, Humble Bundle announced they had officially surpassed $250 million raised for charity since they started. That is a quarter of a billion dollars.

Most of that comes from the Choice sliders.

When you look at the Humble Choice November 2023 featured charity, it’s a reminder that even if you only kept the default "extra" percentage for the cause, you were part of a massive ecosystem of giving. Child’s Play used those November funds to continue their Therapeutic Gaming Specialist grants, which at that point had already awarded over $4.5 million in total.

What Most People Get Wrong

There’s this misconception that these "featured" charities just take the money and throw it into a general fund. With Child’s Play, it’s remarkably transparent. They actually have a "Therapeutic Video Game Guide" they created with mental health pros.

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They aren't just buying PlayStations. They are vetting games to see which ones help with spatial reasoning, which ones reduce anxiety, and which ones are best for kids with limited mobility.

Does it actually matter?

Yes.

Ask any parent who has spent three weeks in a pediatric ward. The "game cart" is often the only thing that makes the room feel like a bedroom instead of a sterile box. When Humble Choice featured them in November 2023, they weren't just picking a name out of a hat. They were celebrating a 13-year partnership that basically helped build the "gaming for good" movement from the ground up.


Actionable Insights for Humble Subscribers

If you want to make sure your contribution to things like the Humble Choice November 2023 featured charity actually hits the hardest, keep these points in mind for your current and future bundles:

  • Check the Sliders: Don't just click "buy." You can manually adjust how much goes to the charity versus the publishers or Humble itself. If a month has a charity you truly believe in, slide that bar to the right.
  • Look at the Impact Reports: Humble releases a "Social Impact Report" every year. If you’re skeptical about where the money goes, read it. The 2023 report specifically highlights how they supported over 7,500 charities.
  • Child’s Play Inventory: If you have old (but working) consoles or games, Child’s Play often has wishlists for specific hospitals. You don't always have to wait for a Humble Bundle to help.
  • Steam Deck Compatibility: Most of the November 2023 games (like Unpacking and Hardspace: Shipbreaker) became staples for Steam Deck users. If you have those keys sitting in your library unredeemed, they are perfect for handheld play.

The legacy of the November 2023 bundle isn't just a wrestling game or a space-sim; it's the fact that a bunch of people buying cheap games helped a kid in a hospital bed feel like a normal person for a few hours. That's worth the sub price alone.