After 15 Years, GDQ Finally Crosses the Atlantic

Fifteen years and over $60 million raised for charity, and Games Done Quick has never once held an event outside the United States. That changes this August. Gamescom announced yesterday that GDQ will run a dedicated three-day speedrunning program at the Cologne trade show from August 28-30, 2026.

I'm surprised it took this long. GDQ has had a massive international viewership for years, European runners have been flying to the US for every major marathon, and the demand has been obvious to anyone who's watched a Twitch chat during AGDQ fill up with Europeans complaining about time zones. The event will run daily from 10am to roughly 8pm CEST, which is a far more reasonable schedule for EU viewers than the usual US-centric hours. Runner submissions open May 4 via the GDQ website, with the full schedule to follow later.

The charity partner for this one is Gaming for Democracy, an initiative created with Bertelsmann Stiftung and Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur that focuses on civic engagement through gaming culture. It's a different flavour from the usual Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders partnerships that anchor AGDQ and SGDQ respectively. Ashley Farkas, GDQ's owner and business director, said in a press release that the partnership "creates space for more runners to participate, especially those who haven't previously had the opportunity to travel to the US." European runners already have ESA, the European Speedrun Assembly, which runs its next event July 31 through August 8, but GDQ bringing its production and global audience to the same continent is a different proposition entirely.

Gamescom proper runs August 26-30, with Opening Night Live on the 25th, so the GDQ block occupies the back half of the show. Three days of ten-hour programming is a serious commitment, and if GDQ can pull the same energy it brings to its US events, Cologne is going to be loud. How much money a European debut raises compared to the established US marathons will be the number everyone watches.