Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) is a an annual video game speedrunning charity marathon that raises money for Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders in English. MSF is a truly lifesaving organization that strives to do exactly what it sounds like: put life saving care where it’s needed most, regardless of political or geographical borders. They are a global organization that responds to tragedies and emergencies all over the world without prejudice. SGDQ has raised millions of dollars every year and you can help!
I never fail to be amazed how much money these events raise. I think they’re awesome, but I really wouldn’t have thought that speedrunning of all things was popular enough to raise millions a year for charity
Speedrunning is undeniably still the bread-and-butter, but if you haven’t checked it out in a while I’d give it another look. They do more and more not-quite-speed-run things. Randomizers, showcases, rhythm games, in 2025 they even had a gaming themed concert!
I mostly watch YouTube videos after the fact when I’ve got a bit of time to dedicate. ShouJo doing something Kaizo is always my highlight
I kind of unironically believe that speedrunning is a core pillar of the internet and maybe also even kind of humaity as a whole, going forward? Stick with me here.
Speedrunning is a self-organizing, self-policing culture built off the back of competitive/cooperative play. Despite centering around somewhat corporate products like videogames and having big events like GDQ, it’s not really centralized in any meaningful way. It’s driven by fan enthusiasm to draw in new people and push limits further. That also incentivizes identifying people who would cheat the system.
Extrapolating on that, as we move into a post-scarcity society with various exigent AI threats, there’s going to be a lot of concern with how we choose to spend our time and brainpower. Using play to collectively push our limits, tear apart code, and identify flaws is gonna be a big thing.
Sorry if that was poorly worded, I’m working on some big ideas here and I don’t know how to convey them well. I know that all sounds kind of silly, and it surely is to some extent, but I do think there’s more there than meets the eye if you just initially handwave it away as “playing videogames really fast for fun”.
DKC2 is gonna be a hype opener
quick links:
Twitch stream: https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick
YouTube stream: https://www.youtube.com/@gamesdonequick/streams
Schedule: https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule/66
Tip for everyone who watches on the go: https://gdq.gg/ goes to the main page, and you can access most of the important places with a slash, example: https://gdq.gg/donate or https://gdq.gg/schedule or https://gdq.gg/prizes
They are doing a pinball speed run this year that I’m super excited about.
Looks like Thursday on the schedule, 16:45 PDT. Total Nuclear Annihilation. Oh I see they have the creator sitting in too, Scott Danesi! That will be great!
Seems like there’s no horror block this year, which is pretty disappointing. Horror games appear to be spread out throughout the event rather than concentrated in a single block. Maybe there weren’t enough runners that could attend?
“Greetings from Germany…” ah yeas the bi-yearly reminder that the Germans do in fact exist and have access to the internet in their mystical land.
What a North American comment!
Oh.
