Games Done Quick, the much-beloved speedrunning charity event created in 2010, announced and subsequently cancelled a collaborative speedrunning showcase with SNK on July 12, midway through a livestreamed Metal Slug speedrun.<\/p>\n
The \u201cspeedrunning showcase\u201d event was announced<\/a> yesterday in the early afternoon, with GDQ\u2019s post stating that they were \u201cexcited to be working with SNK to celebrate\u201d Metal Slug\u2019s 30th anniversary. Less than three hours later, SDQ announced that the sponsored stream had been cancelled, following \u201cconcerns\u201d raised by the community regarding SNK\u2019s majority owners, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have heard the concerns from our community regarding this partnership, specifically the company\u2019s majority ownership by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund, and the human rights concerns tied to the Saudi government,\u201d reads GDQ\u2019s post<\/a> on Bluesky. \u201cWe will not accept the funds from this sponsorship or continue to work with this sponsor again. GDQ is committed to supporting human rights and inclusivity, and we recognize that this partnership conflicted with those values.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of the sponsored stream\u2019s cancellation, the speedrunners had already begun and completed one of the scheduled Metal Slug runs planned for the event. As a result, one of GDQ\u2019s event organizers had to interrupt<\/a> the livestream to announce that the upcoming Metal Slug runs would not be going forward.<\/p>\n SNK Corporation, the developer and publisher behind the likes of the Fatal Fury,\u00a0King of Fighters, and Metal Slug franchises, was purchased by the Misk Foundation in 2022. The Misk Foundation was founded by Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n