GameBlast23: the tenth anniversary

The official GameBlast23 weekend is finally here.

For the next few days, 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.

In case you’ve never heard of the organisation before, let me give you a brief overview. It wants everyone 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.

Although GameBlast23 officially starts today, we’ve been streaming since Friday, 17 February 2023 alongside the awesome Ellen from Ace Asunder, Kevin from The Lawful Geek and friend-of-the-blog Phil. We’re celebrating the events tenth anniversary by playing a video game from a different year of its existence every day up to Sunday, 26 February 2023. Find out what we’ve got coming up and where we’ll be online in the schedule below.

All donations received though our JustGiving page go straight to SpecialEffect. At the time of writing, our amazing supporters have managed to raise over £1,130 – that’s more than double our initial £500 target. To find out how these donations will be used by the charity to support many more gamers with physical disabilities, here’s an overview. It’s not just about money though: anything you can do to spread the word about the charity increases its potential to reach even more people.

Head over to Twitch this weekend and cheer on everyone taking part in GameBlast23. And be sure to visit the Later Levels’ channel on Saturday afternoon, where Pete has committed to digging out his Pikachu costume once again after weeks of persuasion! It’s time to help everybody get back in the game.