Games Done Quick will see the return of its all-women speedrunning event Flame Fatales this August, and players interested in participating will be able to send their game submissions in just a few weeks. Running for a week, the event will be held completely online and, as with all GDQ events, will help raise money for charity via viewers’ donations.
Flame Fatales begins on August 15 and runs through August 21, with game submissions opening up on May 18. If you aren’t sure whether you want to volunteer you’ll have a little longer to decide, as those submissions won’t go live until July 15, which is the same day the schedule releases.
The last Flame Fatales was held in Fall 2020 and raised over $80,000 for the Malala Fund, which supports girls’ education worldwide. The charity for this year’s event has not been announced yet. The main Games Done Quick events typically donate money toward medical-related charities.
The winter edition, Awesome Games Done Quick, has donated to the Prevent Cancer Foundation since 2011, while the Summer Games Done Quick event has raised money for Doctors Without Borders. For the last several years, these events have managed to raise a few million dollars each time, capping out at more than $3.1 million in January 2020. Summer Games Done Quick 2021, the next main event, will be held online this year.
The speedrunning organization has seen some of the best players in the world attempt to race through various games–some of which don’t seem like obvious choices–and sometimes the players compete against others for the fastest time. Viewers can also unlock bonus games or make some of the in-game choices if they meet donation thresholds.
