Summer Games Done Quick raises over $3 million for charity
They did, in fact, go fast
The organisers of speedrunning marathon Games Done Quick have breezed past their previous charity fundraising record, gathering $3,003,889 (£2.4m) across the week-long event. They’d already set their own speed record by hitting $1 million on Thursday – the biggest rush of donations always comes at the end – so it’s a multi-record setting event and all in order to give people medical care. Everyone bask in the feel-good glow for a minute.
Breaking the $3 million mark came just a few short hours after reaching $2 million (helped in part by adding the flood from sponsors and Twitch subs). The crowd began a standing ovation/chant of “Let’s go, Twitch chat,” as runner Puwexil and his couch pals tried valiantly to keep commentating the finale of his Chrono Trigger run.
That ticker is so satisfying.
There’s also a lovely finale video talking about such nice things as community, raising money for charity, and also playing video games extremely quickly. It also gives credit to all the behind the scenes folks who put the show together without getting the camera-facing glory like runners do.
In terms of good PC runs, there’s some quick evading of scares in Resident Evil 2, and it's always nice to watch some classic Skyrim for a lazy Sunday throwback. And some very helpful soul has gathered up all the VODs so you can peruse at your leisure.
Games Done Quick Express is coming up at Twitch Con in September, benefiting accessibility charity AbleGamers and opening the possibility of a world where GDQ ends up chaining together event after event until the speedruns are truly endless, circling the calendar like a speedy ouroboros hungry to send your cash to good causes.
Until then you can still donate to Doctors Without Borders via the Games Done Quick website (at least at the time of writing), or just through the charity itself.