A 2023 survey by the Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology revealed that 65% of individuals aged 18 to 35 avoid discussing cancer. This fear or disinterest is reflected in their willingness to help: only 1% of contributors to GRAACC, an NGO hospital treating childhood cancer, fall within this age group.

Given GRAACC's heavy reliance on donations, we decided to engage a new generation of donors. Brazil leads in the time spent by young people on online gaming, so we opted to use Fortnite as a channel. In 2023, the game boasted approximately 23 million active users in Brazil and 426 million globally.

Epic Games, the company behind the game, announced in March 2023 a new compensation policy, allocating 40% of its profit to map creators with payments based on engagement. Thus, whenever a player plays an island in Fortnite, they are supporting its monetization at no additional cost.

In partnership with one of the main Fortnite creators in Brazil, Mateus Derponce, we developed a map inspired by the stories of children and teenagers who faced cancer alongside GRAACC.

We created an emotional journey where each stage of the map was inspired by and brought elements of the phases of cancer treatment. With a total of ten levels, the map connected the young audience to the cause in a contextualized and natural way, allowing them to do what they love.

In addition to generating awareness about cancer, due to Epic Games' new remuneration mechanic, with payments based on engagement, every minute players spent within the map was converted into donations to GRAACC.

Given that 65% of individuals aged 18 to 35 avoid discussing cancer and this fear or disinterest reflects in the way they help, with only 1% of contributors to GRAACC falling within this age group, we needed to change the perception of this audience on the subject.

To do this, we leveraged the game Fortnite: in 2023, the game had approximately 23 million active users in Brazil. We teamed up with the country's biggest map creator, Mateus Derponce, to develop a map that told the stories of cancer patients while also generating donations, thanks to Epic Games' policy of paying for engagements on creative maps.

The longer players stayed on the map, the more donations were made to the hospital. This initiative established a new form of income generation that brings young people closer to the cause.

To start, we invited children and adolescents from GRAACC to share their journeys of overcoming cancer. With these testimonials, we gathered gaming creators for a brainstorming session, so that Mateus Derponce could initiate the development of the Fortnite map.

The stages represent a journey through the life of a child with cancer, from childhood memories to the discovery of the diagnosis, where challenges and uncertainties begin, until at the end of each stage, we achieve hope.

In the promotion of the map's code, live streams were held featuring renowned Brazilian gaming influencers, such as Nobru and Coringa, with 15.1 million and 6.76 million YouTube followers, respectively, along with others who graciously volunteered to help. As part of the revenue generated is destined for the map creator, Derponce sends the profits to GRAACC monthly, turning the map into a permanent source of income.

In the first weeks of its release, The Hope Level remained on the main screen of the Epic Games store, where high-relevance maps are featured. Additionally, the first live stream of the game by a streamer (Letilz) secured the front page of Twitch. There were 14,000 active players during the first two months.

On social media, GRAACC also saw victory: a 400% increase in mentions of the institution and 95% positive sentiment. The total reach of the actions was 1.2 million, making GRAACC more known among young people, as well as creating a new permanent source of income for the institution.