From August 13–22, Breakthrough T1D Game2Give held Game Over, T1D!, a livestream fundraising event that raised over $70,000 for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. This event cast a wide net into the gaming community and brought together hundreds of people, from video game executives to content creators to fans, who share a love of video games and a strong motivation to find cures for T1D.
The fundraising total includes a generous $25,000 match from Breakthrough T1D Game2Give’s Advisory Council, which is made up of game industry veterans with personal connections to T1D. Game Over, T1D also received support and prize donations from companies including PlayStation, Electronic Arts, Skybound Games, Capcom, Mediatonic, ZeniMax, and Jagex. Notably, two companies with significant involvement, X Rocker and Limited Run Games, have T1D connections within their senior leadership.
X Rocker, a gaming equipment company headquartered in Minnesota, donated gaming beds, chairs, and headsets for giveaways. “Every year we look forward to getting involved with Breakthrough T1D Game2Give’s events. T1D is personal and it affects millions of people and how they live their lives each and every day,” says Robert McNae, X Rocker’s CEO. “Supporting Breakthrough T1D is an impactful way that our team at X Rocker can get involved in the community, spread awareness, and help in the fight to find a cure.”
North Carolina-based Limited Run Games, a boutique publisher of collector’s edition boxed games, donated several rare products as prizes and held their own charity stream that raised $2,600. “I’ve been a type 1 diabetic since I was fifteen, and I’m honored to be able to support the Breakthrough T1D Game2Give initiative along with my company,” says Limited Run Games’ co-founder Josh Fairhurst.
This sort of participation from within the game industry is what Telltale Games co-founder Dan Connors envisioned when he helped start Breakthrough T1D’s video game initiative in 2019. “In forming Breakthrough T1D Game2Give, one of our largest goals was to bring together the community of people in the game industry affected by type 1 diabetes,” Dan says. “As the parent of a child who lives with type 1, I know firsthand how difficult it is to care for and live with this disease. It’s very rewarding to have more and more people joining in the fight and giving a voice to what can be a very silent disease.”
Over fifty members of the Breakthrough T1D Game2Give community streamed on Twitch and YouTube across the 10-day event, collecting donations on Tiltify as they played games, shared personal stories, and educated their viewers. Thanks to featured placement by Twitch and chatter on social media, the community grew as well, with a new wave of gamers and streamers with T1D connections finding Breakthrough T1D Game2Give on Twitter, Discord, and Twitch for the first time.
If you want to do a charity stream for Breakthrough T1D, you don’t have to wait for our next event! Simply register a Game Over, T1D! campaign and help us keep working toward our fundraising goal. Our next organized fundraiser will happen in November for National Diabetes Awareness Month. To get a heads-up when details are available, sign up for email alerts.
