This video game multimillionaire is saving thousands of acres of wildlife
Epic Games has given us plenty of gorgeous, memorable virtual worlds to see in games like "Unreal Tournament" and "Gears of War," but the company's founder is fighting to maintain the world we live in, too.
Tim Sweeney founded Epic in the early 1990s and has done quite well for himself. He's choosing to use that money for good, as he is donating $15 million to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect 7,000 acres of land in North Carolina, his home state.
The news was originally reported by the Citizen-Times before being picked up by Gamasutra. Sweeney is paying to protect the Box Creek Wilderness, an undeveloped wilderness area that has been threatened by development in the past.
Sweeney's money (known as an "easement") will make sure humans take only pictures and leave only footprints at the Box Creek Wilderness.
"It's still in private ownership but the easement ensures it can never be developed," Sweeney said. "It's not open to anyone in the public at any time, but people can email and get a permission card and go and enjoy it."
Sweeney has owned and donated land in North Carolina before, so this is nothing new. However, in these difficult times, it's undeniably uplifting to see someone apply their wealth to something that is indisputably for the best.