The following main Video games Carried out Fast occasion, January’s Superior Video games Carried out Fast, shall be an online-only occasion after the present’s organisers launched a press release saying “we don’t imagine [Florida] is a protected place for our group” in gentle of the state’s putrid insurance policies in direction of Covid and marginalised people.
Whereas the Summer time Video games Carried out Fast occasion made a triumphant return to a dwell occasion with crowds in July, AGDQ—whose final dwell version was in 2019 on the DoubleTree Hilton in Orlando—had for 2023 “secured a contract with a venue in Florida”, an settlement that has now been ditched in gentle of the organiser’s determination.
Right here’s their assertion in full (emphasis mine):
AGDQ2023 returns dwell, on-line from January eighth to the fifteenth, 2023, benefiting the Stop Most cancers Basis!
Whereas we’d like to return in-person, we’ve decided that to offer a protected and welcoming occasion to all it was greatest that we transfer away from our initially deliberate location in Florida.
Given the state’s continued disregard for COVID-19’s risks (together with anti-mandate vaccination insurance policies) and an elevated aggression in direction of LGBTQ+ people, together with the regulation colloquially generally known as “Don’t Say Homosexual,” we don’t imagine it’s a protected place for our group presently.
Instantly after the success of AGDQ 2020, we secured a contract with a venue in Florida to return in 2021. Because the world pandemic was declared, we postponed in-person occasions till it was protected to return.
We’ve explored a number of choices which might permit us to stay in-person by relocating to a safer location. Sadly, the price required to cancel our contract is simply too nice to justify relocating AGDQ whereas paying the cancellation charge, and we’re not in a position to delay our contract. This finally led us to maneuver AGDQ 2023 on-line.
Whereas the transfer to on-line will permit us to avoid wasting on bills, we nonetheless have appreciable prices to recuperate. We need to recuperate that cash the place attainable, together with with group assist by way of Twitch subs. We thank the group for his or her assist!
It’s a disgrace the transfer has price them, however hopefully the 2024 occasion can discover someplace the workforce are extra comfy calling house. Be aware this doesn’t have an effect on Summer time Video games Carried out Fast, which since 2018 has been held on the DoubleTree Hilton in Bloomington, Minnesota.