Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 goes online only after Florida deemed unsafe for community
Cites disregard for COVID-19 dangers and increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals.
2023's Awesome Games Done Quick event, which will see expert players from around the world highlight their skills by beating games as quickly as possible, will be held virtually between 8th January and 15th January next year.
This event was initially planned to be an in-person event, however, the organiser has made the decision to move it to an online-only affair, as it feels Florida is unsafe for its community at this time.
Following the event's announcement yesterday, the Awesome Games Done Quickly team shared the following statement:
"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.
"Given the state's continued disregard for COVID-19's dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination 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 at this time."
The organiser went on to say it secured a contract to host Awesome Games Done Quick in Florida for 2021 following the success of 2020's event. However, all in-person events were postponed following the pandemic "until it was safe to return", which is something it does not feel Florida currently offers.
The team goes on to say: "We've explored multiple options which would allow us to remain in-person by relocating to a safer location.
"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."
As a result, the decision to move Awesome Games Done Quick to an exclusively online event was made.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 will be held in support of Prevent Cancer Foundation, dedicated to cancer prevention and early detection. You can watch along on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel.