It’s been quite some time since I’ve written a post to all of you. As our team grew in size, I passed on the Inside Choices pen to other people on the team who are both more fun and closer to the stories we tell than I am. But given these historic times, I decided to pick up the pen on behalf of our entire team.

Like many of you around the world, our team has been Sheltering in Place for quite some time. Pixelberry has been fortunate in that everyone is able to work from home, but most of us have friends and family who have been furloughed or laid off during this time. Like you, we also have family who are working the front lines as first responders or essential workers. Our admiration, great respect, and fear for their well being goes out to them every day.

Going stir crazy, we’ve been trying hard to keep our rhythm of content releases to entertain our supporters and ourselves - some who started as ardent fans and later joined Pixelberry. As you may have seen, some of our schedule has changed. The strain of the unknown has definitely affected our ability to focus as much as we’d like. We’ve encouraged those in the studio who are juggling caring for kids with work to prioritize their kids. We even have a few Pixelberry couples who met through our team that switch off taking care of Pixelbabies between meetings and writing. Others, like me, have gotten sick with crazy flu-like symptoms, but fortunately we’ve all gotten better. And like some of you, we’ve lost loved ones without having the chance to say goodbye properly for now.

Amidst the pain and frustrations, we’ve also tried to help each other and others through volunteering time or resources. One story I’d like to single out is of a woman who trained to be an EMT (paramedic) while she was working part time for Pixelberry. She later joined the Pixelberry family full time. A few weeks ago, she answered the call for trained medical personnel and started volunteering at a temporary Covid-19 site. I am so proud of her. During one of our virtual meetings she told us how a little girl who was sick suddenly started screaming in happiness at the entrance. She was so happy to see the staff dressed in yellow gear with protective eye wear and to know that Minions were going to take care of her.

During the beginning of Shelter-in-Place, our team looked into a number of ways we could give free diamonds and keys to players as an acknowledgement of the tough times that everyone is going through and as a thank you for your support. Even though we’ve done this in the past, unfortunately due to engine changes and poor planning we couldn’t do a giveaway without risking a break in our current system. It was bad planning on our part to not have a system in place to do this. I am very sorry that we have been unable to do a Shelter-in-Place giveaway. We are currently working on better ways to communicate with you in-game that will help make giveaways easier to do in the future.

Although it may not be a financial consolation to you, Pixelberry is trying to do our part to make the world a better place. After figuring out how to fight Coronavirus as a global community, our world will still face the even greater threat of Global Warming. Besides volunteering our individual time and money to support others during these Coronavirus times, Pixelberry has a small dedicated team working on a Climate Change project. This is a passion project we started last year and hope to complete later this year. With Choices’ reach and passionate fan base, we think we can utilize our platform to make a small, but hopefully meaningful difference.

We love that our stories can entertain you - whether you’re away from school or after a shift at the hospital. We’re on new stories in different genres, including some of your most requested ones. We’ve heard that they’ve helped to make some of you feel like you belong and that there are others who understand what you are going through, whether during Coronavirus or normal times. And we hope in the future they can inspire action, too.

Thank you for your passion, your patience, and your support. Your posts, your art, and your criticisms inspire and move us forward. We know this is a difficult time for everyone and our hearts are with you.

Wishing you peace and health,

Oliver, on behalf of the Pixelberry team