The now confirmed online-only Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 event will run from Jan. 8 to 15, with a full lineup of speedruns lined up so that the broadcast can stay live 24 hours a day for the full week.
Fans can expect the same high-quality showcase of expert speedrunners beating their games as quickly as possible, with some added bonuses and challenges thrown in along the way, all to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. But unlike Summer Games Done Quick 2022, AGDQ 2023 will not be returning to an in-person setting.
“While we would love to return in-person, we’ve determined that to provide a safe and welcoming event to all it was best that we move away from our originally planned location in Florida,” GDQ staff said. “Given the state’s continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination policies) and an increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals, including the law colloquially known as ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time.”
Those factors, along with a venue contract already having been locked down in Florida being too costly to justify relocating while paying a cancelation fee, led to the event retaining the online-only status that it has been using since January 2020.
Related: Summer Games Done Quick 2022 surpasses $3 million in donations for Doctors Without Borders
During those two years, online GDQ has improved its digital product with each event, getting to the point where the physical event at SGDQ 2022 still had plenty of speedrunners hosting their runs remotely. AGDQ 2022 actually still holds the current donation record for a GDQ event at $3,442,033 raised, so the impact of the marathon far outweighs the limitations set by an in-person venue.
In total, GDQ has helped raise more than $41 million for charities like Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Submissions for the game lineup and event volunteers will go live on Sept. 11, with more details on the GDQ website.
