UK video games studios raise £30,000 for Oxfordshire’s SpecialEffect

By Sam Pither

5 May 2023

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Games studios from around the UK have come together for a 24-hour football match, raising £30,000 for Oxfordshire-based gaming accessibility charity SpecialEffect.

Kicking off at 7pm on Wednesday 26 April at England’s St. George’s Park training facility, the event saw 24 teams taking part including squads from Worcestershire’s Flix Interactive, Warwickshire-based Rare and Playground Games, Surrey-based EA and Bromley’s Splash Damage, with each team assigned to either the red or blue team.

Each team then played a full-length 90-minute match on rotation, representing either the red or blue side. Every goal scored contributed to the overall score, which at the final whistle at 6pm on Thursday 27 April was an epic 53-68 to the Reds.

The event originated in the 2020 Covid lockdown, when staff from Xbox studios Rare and Playground Games organised an online fundraiser, playing 11-a-side FIFA live on the streaming platform Twitch. That graduated into a real-life football game between the two sets of players in 2021, and now this around-the-clock marathon match, featuring some of the biggest names in the video games industry.

The entire event was streamed live on Xbox’s Twitch channel with a consistent audience of over 2500 viewers enjoying the action, accompanied by commentary from a multitude of special guests including Gav Murphy, Charleyy Hodson, Inel Tomlinson, Craig Duncan and Henry Melville, along with SpecialEffect staff Nick Streeter and Liam Lawler adding their expert punditry to what proved to be a highly amusing and good-spirited broadcast.

After the event, Tom Donegan, SpecialEffect COO commented, “A huge thank you to Rare for organising such a fantastic 24 hours, and we’re so grateful to everyone involved in playing, broadcasting, watching and donating to this unique event!

“The money raised will make a BIG difference as we try to level the playing field for gamers with physical disabilities. We don’t charge for any of our services, so these funds will go directly towards helping more people with disabilities to get back in the game. Well done to all the teams who took part, you’re ALL winners in our eyes!”

SpecialEffect is an Oxfordshire-based charity that focuses on helping people with physical disabilities to play video games. For many people, games are a vital form of recreation and games like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 5 have a particular role to play in connecting gamers with additional needs. SpecialEffect uses innovative technology to make gaming accessible to all.

Solutions are tailored to each individual, taking into account their physical limitations and creating custom input devices, from modified controllers to eye gaze and voice control, to let them play with their friends and family.

SpecialEffect will be the partner charity for this year’s Thames Valley Tech Awards, having benefitted from our support previously at the South Coast and Thames Valley Tech Awards in 2022.

By Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset.

A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise.

Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.