GameBlast23: the schedule confirmed

There’s now less than a month to go before GameBlast23.

Every February, hundreds of gamers from across the country come together on Twitch to take part in extended gaming sessions. Their aim is to raise funds and awareness for SpecialEffect and help the charity continue their work to bring the joy of gaming to even more people.

The organisation believes it’s everyone’s turn to play. It wants everybody to be included, and at the heart of its work is the mission to maximise fun and quality of life by helping people with physical disabilities to play video games. A range of technology including modified controllers and eye-controlled software is used to find a way for individuals to play to the best of their abilities.

The annual GameBlast marathon is the perfect way to do what we love and have a positive effect on the lives of others at the same time. Participants have traditionally completed in 24-hour streams, but this has evolved since the event began in 2014. Pete and I have taken part in longer marathons, dares, challenges and more – and we’re now preparing for its tenth anniversary.

In November’s update, we shared that we’ll be hosting Twitch streams for ten days between Friday 17 February and Sunday, 26 February 2023. Our plan is to celebrate the past decade by playing a different game from a year of the event’s existence each day. Some awesome friends have agreed to join us for GameBlast23 experience, and we can now reveal below the schedule for what our group has decided to call The Super Excellent SpecialEffect Great Dapper Gaming Decathlon.

The Super Excellent SpecialEffect Great Dapper Gaming Decathlon will see us celebrate each year of GameBlast’s existence between Friday, 17 and Sunday, 26 February.

All donations received through our JustGiving page go straight to SpecialEffect and allow it to continue its fantastic work. At the time of writing, our kind supporters have raised 46% of our initial £500 target which is amazing! Not only will this money be used to create custom gaming setups for people physical disabilities, it also makes a global impact by funding innovations such as the EyeMine software and enabling the charity to provide more freely-available game accessibility advice.

It’s not just about donations though. Anything you can do to help spread the word about SpecialEffect is hugely beneficial as this increases the potential for the team to reach more people they can help. Check out examples of the organisation’s work and spread the word on social media; watch and cheer on everyone taking part in the event on Twitch; share our press release, which will be coming in a couple of weeks. It’s all valuable and we really appreciate the support.

There’s still time to sign up for GameBlast23 if you’d like to participate – or get in touch if you’d like to join our team! Head over to the SpecialEffect website to find out more about the charity, and follow the official GameBlast Twitter account to receive regular updates about the event. It’s time to help everybody get back in the game.