The speedrunning community just proved once again that going fast can do a world of good. Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) 2026 wrapped up in Minneapolis this week, raising another $2.4 million (£1.8m) for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.
The annual marathon pulled in around 2,500 in-person attendees, with thousands more tuning in via livestream. Every dollar donated goes straight to Doctors Without Borders, which the organisers describe as “providing life-saving medical care to those in need worldwide”. This year’s event also shared a short documentary, Return to Gaza, detailing MSF’s work supporting the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Of course, the real draw is watching some of the planet’s best players dismantle games at inhuman speeds. Standout runs this year included:
- Kirby Air Riders — a world-record-breaking run from Bluekandy
- Balatro — a poker-roguelike run that beat all the odds
- Resident Evil: Requiem — complete with some impromptu beatboxing on the couch
Between runs, SGDQ served up a full slate of community programming: panels, board game and music rooms, a bustling vendor’s alley stuffed with video game-inspired artwork, and demo booths where attendees could get hands-on with games. It’s less a broadcast and more a week-long festival for people who like their gameplay measured in milliseconds.
If you missed the live action, don’t sweat it — every run is archived on the Games Done Quick YouTube channel, ready for a binge.
The numbers behind GDQ remain genuinely staggering. Since 2010, the organisation has collectively raised more than $62 million for charities worldwide, including the Malala Fund and the Organization for Autism Research. For context, Summer Games Done Quick 2025 closed at $2,436,614 (£1.8m) for Doctors Without Borders, while Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 pulled in $2.44 million (£1.8m) for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
What makes GDQ special isn’t just the eye-watering totals — it’s the mix of technical mastery and pure joy. Watching a runner exploit a decades-old glitch to shave seconds off a boss fight, all while a room full of viewers erupts, is a spectacle you won’t find anywhere else in gaming.
If this sort of thing is your speed, GDQ runs regular programming on its channels throughout the year, and the European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA) offers plenty of local flavour on the other side of the Atlantic. Either way, the next marathon is never far off — and it’ll almost certainly be raising money for a good cause.
