The virtual speedrun-a-thon Summer Games Done Quick (opens in new tab) wrapped up this weekend with a whopping $2.3 million raised to support Doctors Without Borders, an independent organization that delivers emergency medical aid to people impacted by wars, epidemics, and disasters.
That's actually down from the previous two major GDQ events, Summer Games Done Quick 2019 (opens in new tab) and Awesome Games Done Quick (opens in new tab) in January 2020, both of which surpassed the $3 million mark. SGDQ 2020 was also online-only (opens in new tab), however, due to the COVID-19 outbreak—and it's not as though $2.3 million is chump change. The donations earned during this year's event takes the total amount of funds raised by GDQ for charities around the world, including Doctors Without Borders, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Direct Relief, AbleGamers, and Organization for Autism Research, to more than $27 million since 2010.
If you missed any of the runs (and odds are that you did, because it ran 24/7 for the entire week), an archive is available on the GDQ YouTube channel (opens in new tab). A few highlights include KOTOR (opens in new tab) in under 45 minutes, ALF (opens in new tab) in six minutes, Ori and the Will of the Wisps (opens in new tab) in half an hour, Dusk (opens in new tab) in under 20, and Half-Life: Alyx (opens in new tab) in 31:16, which is especially interesting because it's a VR game and thus requires a little more athleticism than most. Check it out below.
The next GDQ events, by the way, will be Fleet Fatales (opens in new tab), running November 15-21, and Awesome Games Done Quick 2021, which will go January 3-10, 2021.
