Gaming convention GuardianCon raises a whopping $3.7 million for charity

Bungie raised $400,000 in just four hours as part of the annual GuardianCon Charity Marathon Stream, shattering the Destiny developer’s goal of $150,000 and breaking the event’s all-time record, but Fortnite streamer Dr. Lupo did even better.

A massive thank you to @Bungie for a MASSIVE block during the GuardianCon marathon! The LARGEST block EVER with $400 THOUSAND dollars and counting raised for the kids of St. Jude. @NeebsOfficial is up, let’s keep the hype going! https://t.co/iizFdXmE1m

— Gaming Community Expo (@GCXEvent) June 21, 2019

GuardianCon, which started as a Destiny-focused community meet-up, has evolved into “Florida’s premier gaming convention,” featuring a combination of in-person events with keynote speakers and new game previews, and a collection of Twitch streams that seek to raise money for charity. This year, the donations will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which focuses on treating the toughest childhood cancers and pediatric diseases. The goal of the event was to raise $3 million for the institution.

Last year, streamer Dr. Lupo set a new record by raising more than $350,000 during his streaming block. Bungie, broke that record with a final total of $401,420.97. The donations breached the $400,000 mark at the last minute, just before Bungie’s streaming block ended.

During the Bungie stream, where developers played Destiny 2: Forsaken, incentives for Twitch viewers to donate include having the developers invert their controls and wearing a view-restricting Shaxx helmet, among other things. There were also some reveals during the broadcast including two new legendary weapons for the upcoming Destiny 2: Shadowkeep expansion.

By the time Bungie’s block ended, GuardianCon had raised over $2 million. Dr. Lupo, who was really looking forward to the charity event in an interview with Digital Trends, then took over for the final push.

.@DrLupo is really excited about this next big event for charity. #E32019 pic.twitter.com/qF7ZctkwiZ

— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) June 22, 2019

Dr. Lupo went on to break the record again, raisinga whopping $920,000 in his four-hour streaming block, bringing the total amount raised by the GuardianCon Charity Marathon Stream to $3.7 million.

@DrLupo thank you for an incredible block with over $920K in four hours. You are incredible.

— Gaming Community Expo (@GCXEvent) June 23, 2019

Dr. Lupo’s feat may be the most money raised in the shortest period of time for a gaming charity stream, according to Forbes.

Bungie’s participation in the GuardianCon Charity Marathon Stream comes as the developer prepares to launch Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, the game’s next major expansion, on September 17.

Shadowkeep will be the first Destiny 2 expansion since Bungie ended its partnership with publisher Activision in January. The first-person shooter will move to Steam from the current Battle.net client upon the release of Shadowkeep, and its base game will be rebranded as Destiny 2: New Light and will go free-to-play.