Speedons 2024: 75 hours of video games in support of Médecins du Monde

Thursday February 29 at 6 p.m. at the Lyon Convention Center, all the buttons turn green for the launch of the 4th edition of Speedons. On a PC, a Super Nintendo or a Master System, regardless of the console, the players' objective remains the same: to finish a video game as quickly as possible. Although the discipline aims to be “niche”, Speedons is one of those events that breaks the boundaries of gaming. Broadcast live on the Twitch platform, the event will make it possible to collect as many donations as possible for the benefit of Médecins du monde. A good way to combine business with pleasure.

“Last year we raised 1.2 million euros,” says Xavier Dang, aka Mister MV. The streamer and organizer of the event has been difficult to contact lately and for good reason, he is preparing to launch the 75-hour live with around a hundred speakers. “It represents months of work,” he says. In the Lyon complex, each player, called a “runner”, will go on stage to perform on the game and console of their choice. The duration of the performance will depend on the game. In the room, more than 500 people will be present, “I comment live and set the mood,” explains Xavier Dang.

Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda, Star Wras Jedi: Survivor... In all, more than 80 video games have been selected for this fourth edition. The program highlights small and large productions and from all eras. “Speedrunning is a discipline that has existed since the 90s. Even if runs on Mario or Zelda video games get millions of views (on YouTube), the discipline will always remain “niche”.” It is therefore difficult to say whether this new edition will break records: “If we collect as many donations as last year it will be very good,” hopes Xavier Dang. As for the number of viewers on Twitch, “we’re not looking to break a record,” he assures.

Regularly, the caster will encourage spectators and viewers to make donations for Doctors of the World. “Donors are invited to go to the “speedons.fr” website. In addition to doing a good deed, they can add interest to the event. Depending on the number of donations, challenges will have to be completed, such as finishing a game blindfolded for example.” Online t-shirt sales are also an important source of funds for the NGO. “The more we exceed certain sales levels, the greater the margin for Médecins du monde,” he adds.

Xavier Dang assumes it, Speedons will never have the same strike force as ZEvent which had collected more than 10 million euros during its last edition in 2022. As a reminder, the ZEvent brings together fifty of the most big youtubers and streamers from France. “Unlike this event, we don’t sell people, we sell performance,” explains the organizer. Most participants are not known and do not earn money from this discipline. “Speedrunning does not fall into the category of esports. There is no competition.”

At Speedons, “only the technical teams are paid,” he says. Players receive travel expenses. Every year some big names from French Youtube join Mister MV for a few hours. Last year Zerator, Antoine Daniel, Damdam, Real Myop and Gomart were present. The marathon therefore rests largely on the shoulders of streamers and a few streamers. The event will end on Sunday March 3 at 11:59 p.m.