Trion Worlds donating 'Rift: Storm Legion' expansion sales towards saving the pandas

For every copy of the "Storm Legion" expansion pack for massively multiplayer online role-playing game Rift pre-ordered through StormLegion.com, developer Trion Worlds will donate $1 to Pandas International, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the endangered giant panda.

The decision to give to the charity was sparked by an incident at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park earlier this week, in which a six-day-old giant panda cub suddenly passed away.

"The entire team here at Trion shares great amounts of love and respect for our Panda brethren, and we want to see these gentle giants thrive for generations to come," Trion CCO Scott Hartsman told Polygon, "hence our initiative with the good people at Pandas International. We liken this particular initiative to calling your Mom – literally any time is the perfect time to support panda propagation."

Rift players have until "Storm Legion" launches on October 3rd for their purchase to be included in the donations.