Games Done Quick is quickly putting together a speedrunning marathon in support of Hurricane Helene relief

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Disaster Relief Done Quick begins on October 11.

Games Done Quick is holding a special Disaster Relief Done Quick speedrunning event next week to raise funds for aid to people impacted by Hurricane Helene, a category 4 storm that devastated entire communities and left more than 200 people dead across multiple US states.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Florida coast on September 26, but the US National Weather Service says its greatest impacts were felt "across the southern Appalachians where widespread severe and unprecedented flooding occurred with hundreds of fatalities and billions in property damage. Strong wind gusts damaged property and blew trees and power lines down in a swath from the Gulf Coast to the North Carolina mountains." The death toll is expected to continue to rise: An MSNBC report says at least 215 have been confirmed killed, and hundreds more remain missing.

In light of that urgency, Disaster Relief Done Quick is being done, well, quick. Submissions for speedruns will be accepted until midnight Eastern time on October 6, while the event itself will get underway at 6 pm ET on October 11 and run until midnight on October 13. 

The full speedrun showcase will be broadcast on the Games Done Quick channel on Twitch, and all donations made during the event will go to Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization active across the US and internationally "with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies—without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay."

Games Done Quick speedrunning marathons began in 2010 and have raised more than $50 million for charity in the years since. The flagship events are the annual Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick marathons, and the newer Frame Fatales events for women and non-binary speedrunners, which began in 2019. But there have been a handful of standalone GDQ events over the years too, including the 2017 Harvey Relief Done Quick marathon to support victims of Hurricane Harvey, which raised more than $229,000.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.