Annual charity speedrunning festival Summer Games Done Quick will return as an online-only event, running from July 4 through 11.
“With the health and safety of all in mind, #SGDQ2021 is now SGDQ 2021 Online!” the organizers wrote on Twitter today. “Expect the same weeklong charity speedrun event you know and love!”
This year’s submission process will be open between April 1 (okay, fine, technically 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31) and April 11. Hopefully some Hades speedrunners step up to the plate again.
Last year, Summer Games Done Quick raised more than $2 million for the medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). One standout run featured a literal crawl through Half-Life: Alyx, the first virtual reality speedrun in Games Done Quick history.
With the stateside covid-19 vaccine rollout proceeding apace, and with the White House trumpeting a “return to normal” date of July 4, you’d not be wrong to hope 2021 might see the return of IRL events. Still, when it comes to in-person events, many organizers are wisely exhibiting caution.
Earlier this month, Comic-Con was canceled, with a smaller replacement event now planned for November. Just yesterday, organizers canceled the annual PAX East event, originally scheduled for June, and replaced it with the all-digital PAX Online, now planned for July.