Awesome Games Done Quick, the winter companion to Summer Games Done Quick, will be held online next year in 2023. In a tweet, the Games Done Quick organization announced that instead of hosting an in-person event in Florida, it would instead return the speedrunning charity live-stream event to an online format.
It’s official! #AGDQ2023 will be taking place online January 8th-15th!
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.
See thread below.
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) September 7, 2022
Back in July, Games Done Quick hosted its first in-person event since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the success of Summer Games Done Quick’s hybrid format that featured streamers both in person in Minnesota and remotely, the organization that runs the charity event has cited the continued concern of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique political situation in Florida as the reason why it’s shifting back to online-only.
Games Done Quick tweeted: “Given the state’s continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate 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.”
It also explained that the organization signed a contract with a venue in Florida in 2020 and that the costs involved in potentially breaking the contract to relocate the event elsewhere would be too great.
Unfortunately, the cost required to cancel our contract is too great to justify relocating AGDQ while paying the cancellation fee, and we are no longer able to delay our contract. This ultimately led us to move AGDQ 2023 online.
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) September 7, 2022
In addition to its main bi-annual events featuring diverse runners and commentators, Games Done Quick is also known for hosting a number of streaming events designed to highlight speedrunners from marginalized communities. Flame, Frost, and Fleet Fatales are GDQ’s all-women charity streams, in June it hosted a Juneteenth celebration highlighting Black speedrunners, and a number of GDQ’s regular programming starts with a “Trans rights are human rights” statement. That the organization is willing to take a financial hit to keep its diverse community of runners and fans safe is commendable.
AGDQ 2023 will take place January 8th-15th with funds supporting the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Sign-ups for volunteers and game submissions will open on September 11th.
