The light in the storm
Against all of the odds, and despite all of the hurdles 2020 has put in place, the annual Summer Games Done Quick speedrun marathon has delivered once again. As the curtain fell on this year’s event, SGDQ 2020 succeeded in raising an amazing $2.3 million USD for charity.
Typically held every August at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Minnesota, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced the GDQ team to move their annual summer extravaganza to an online-only format, with an army of speedrunners showcasing their skills from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
As a week of awesome gaming action closed with a five-hour speedrun of Nintendo’s Pokemon Shield, a grand total of $2,309,530 had been raised by a home audience watching along on Twitch. The money raised will be donated directly to international charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, a global network of medical professionals who provide relief, medicine and care wherever it is needed worldwide, regardless of race, creed or political persuasion.
The week saw engaging playthroughs of modern titles such as Horizon Zero Dawn, The Last of Us, Demon’s Souls, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, alongside classics Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Doom 64, Super Metroid, and Elevator Action Returns. If you missed the action, don’t fret, as all of the week’s runs are now bookmarked over on the GDQ VOD website.
Once again the gaming community has succeeded in coming together, even under the most frustrating and oppressive of circumstances, to celebrate the medium of video games while raising a staggering amount of money for those who need it most. It makes you proud. Congratulations to the GDQ crew, the streamers, and the donors for contributing to a great event and keeping hope and hearts beating during this exceptionally difficult year.
The next Awesome Games Done Quick event is scheduled for January 2021. An all-women’s speedrunning event – Frame Fatales’ Fleet Fatales – will take place in November.