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Source：Steady Information Network Editor：Life Time：2025-06-26 16:07:03

As flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey causes devastation in Texas981 Archives the gaming community is coming together to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.

Starting at 8 p.m. ET Friday, Games Done Quick is hosting a 48-hour marathon with 100% of donations going to the Houston Food Bank. During Harvey Relief Done Quick, gamers will be livestreaming themselves playing games as quickly as possible, a.k.a. speedrunning, nonstop throughout the weekend.

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Games Done Quick (GDQ) typically hosts two charity speedrunning marathons a year, each one about one week long. Seven of its last eight events since 2014 have raised over $1 million in donations for the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders.

SEE ALSO: A look back at 5 of the best moments from Games Done Quick speedruns

But after seeing the damage cause by Harvey in Texas, GDQ director of operations Matt Merkle had a desire to help those affected by the disaster.

"I waited a while to see what the true impact of the storm was going to be, and once it was obvious how awful it had become, and how many people were in need, I checked with our staff for availability, and off we went!" Merkle said.

GDQ put out its feelers Thursday to see who would be interested in participating in the marathon and donating to the cause, and Merkle said people's interest was amazing.

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"The response has been absolutely mind-blowing," Merkle said. "In the matter of days we've seen enormous amounts of feedback on Twitter, plenty of well wishes and support from Reddit."

"It wouldn't have been possible without the help of all the speedrunners and experienced volunteers"

GDQ also did an impromptu charity event after the 2011 Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan (Japan Relief Done Quick), although Merkle said he believes Harvey Relief Done Quick will be the fastest event GDQ has ever organized. This weekend's event will not be hosted in a single venue like usual; instead speedrunners will mostly stream from home, which presents some unique challenges but also means less downtime between runs.

"It wouldn't have been possible without the help of all the speedrunners and experienced volunteers offering up their support at a moment's notice," he said.

This is the first special GDQ event since 2011, but Merkle said he could see the possibility of doing more impromptu events.

"While GDQ can't respond to every event that happens around the globe, we believe there's room for a couple special events a year," Merkle said. "Our major concern will be to avoid interference with our main events. As long as the timing is right and we can get the runners we need, then it's an option!"

As for the charity of choice, the Houston Food Bank works locally to bring food and meals to residents in need, and each dollar donated covers roughly three full meals.

"It was important to us to pick a charity that was local, as we want the donors to feel confident in knowing their money is going to help people as quickly and efficiently as possible," Merkle said.

The marathon will be running both on Games Done Quick's website and its Twitch channel.

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