Tune in to Games Done Quick, the Speedrunning Charity Marathon

It seems like a good chunk of the population thinks all video games do is rot our brains or make us violent. Every so often, however, an event pops up that reminds us that games can actually do some real good, and Games Done Quick is a great example of that. GDQ is a semiannual speedrunning charity event that has been going since 2010, and has raised $14.5 million over its 19 marathons. They are currently in the middle of their summer event, which will kicked off on June 24 and will run through July 1 at the Double Tree Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota.

At each event, various speedrunners take turns at the controller, doing what they do best: playing video games really quickly. The feed is streamed live on the GDQ Twitch channel, and viewers have an opportunity to interact, win prizes, and of course, donate. The speedrunners play all kinds of games—everything from the 8-bit era all the way up to modern titles.

Watch live video from GamesDoneQuick on www.twitch.tv

The stream goes on for 24 hours for the entire week that it’s running, and you can find the full schedule of all of the speedrunners here. While the different marathons support different causes, the donations from this summer’s event will go to Doctors Without Borders. You can donate here, or visit the Games Done Quick website here. Even better, 100% of the money donated goes directly to the cause.

So why don’t you sit back, relax, and help make the world a better place with video games? Sounds like a win-win to me.

Image: Nintendo

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