About
Improving Lives, Finding Cures & Having Fun
Breakthrough T1D’s Northern California chapter began exploring video game fundraising after Dan Connors, a game industry veteran and father of a child with type 1 diabetes (T1D), set up a donation through the online game store Humble Bundle. Excited by the possibilities, the chapter collaborated with Dan and Hans ten Cate, another T1D dad in the game industry, to help get Breakthrough T1D Play (then called JDRF Game2Give) off the ground in 2019.
In 2020, the initiative expanded worldwide and former game industry executive Josh Larson, whose daughter lives with type 1, signed on to lead the program. As Breakthrough T1D Play grows, more and more video game professionals with T1D connections have joined our volunteer group, all with a common goal: to develop creative ways to advance Breakthrough T1D’s mission of improving lives and finding cures, and to have fun doing it.
Improving Lives, Finding Cures & Having Fun
Breakthrough T1D’s Northern California chapter began exploring video game fundraising after Dan Connors, a game industry veteran and father of a child with type 1 diabetes (T1D), set up a donation through the online game store Humble Bundle. Excited by the possibilities, the chapter collaborated with Dan and Hans ten Cate, another T1D dad in the game industry, to help get Breakthrough T1D Play (then called JDRF Game2Give) off the ground in 2019.
In 2020, the initiative expanded worldwide and former game industry executive Josh Larson, whose daughter lives with type 1, signed on to lead the program. As Breakthrough T1D Play grows, more and more video game professionals with T1D connections have joined our volunteer group, all with a common goal: to develop creative ways to advance Breakthrough T1D’s mission of improving lives and finding cures, and to have fun doing it.
To date, Breakthrough T1D Play has raised more than $5M for type 1 diabetes research. Our projects include in-game integrations, livestream fundraisers, game bundles, and esports tournaments.
Our Significant Milestones
March 2019
Dan Connors and Hans ten Cate work with NorCal chapter to hold a preliminary networking event at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
March 2020
Josh Larson joins the team as a volunteer.
June 2020
October 2020
Josh Larson becomes JDRF Game2Give director.
November 2020
JDRF Game2Give holds weeklong tournament with World Golf Tour.
November 2021
February 2023
May 2023
Inaugural Creators for Cures fundraising event raises 4x its original funding goal.
June 2023
JDRF Game2Give program crosses $3M fundraising milestone.
February 2024
Game Over, T1D! Steam Sale raises over $200K.
June 2024
JDRF Game2Give program is renamed Breakthrough T1D Play as part of JDRF’s organization-wide rebranding.
Humble
Humble’s mission is to support charity while providing awesome games and other digital content to customers at great prices. Breakthrough T1D Play regularly partners with Humble on game bundles, drawing on our team’s game industry connections to curate content and spread the word about bundles through community Twitch streams. Humble initiatives have raised more than $1.5M for Breakthrough T1D.
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X Rocker
X Rocker is renowned for redefining home entertainment for gamers across the globe with their huge product offering of gaming chairs, desks, and the world’s first gaming beds. Starting with our first Twitch fundraiser in 2019, X Rocker has generously donated dozens of headsets, gaming desks, and other items for giveaways and fundraising incentives. X Rocker has a type 1 diabetes connection within its senior leadership, which makes this cause personal to the company.
Limited Run Games
Limited Run Games is a premium publisher of physical games cofounded by Josh Fairhurst, who lives with type 1 diabetes. Limited Run’s support has included donations of rare collector’s edition games as giveaways for our streaming events hosted on their Twitch channel. Through this partnership, Josh and Limited Run have raised more than $35K for Breakthrough T1D.
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World Golf Tour
World Golf Tour is the #1 top rated 3D online sports game, with more than 15M players across the globe. It’s free to play on Windows PC, Mac, or your favorite mobile device (iOS, Android, Amazon). Since 2020, we’ve partnered with World Golf Tour to hold open charity tournaments during National Diabetes Awareness Month in November. Across four tournaments, more than 150,000 players in 192 countries have competed to be the best!
Game Asset Bundle
Game Asset Bundle is a ragtag collective of independent, creative humans assembled under a generic, unassuming name, with a mission of making art, music, and more for video game developers and other media. Since 2020, they have supported Breakthrough T1D with multiple Humble Bundles and themed game jams, raising more than $120,000 to date.
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Additional Partners
Coldwild Games
Crytivo
DotEmu
Flow Studio
melessthanthree
Prideful Sloth
Prismatika
Secret Mode
Team Gotham
Partner with Us
We’re always looking to expand our network. If you’re in the game industry and have a T1D connection, we want to hear from you!
Meet Our Team
Our goal is GAME OVER for T1D.
Advisory Council
Need Answers?
Frequently Asked Questions
Type 1 diabetes (often shortened to “T1D”) is an autoimmune disease that strikes both children and adults suddenly. It has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. There is nothing you can do to prevent it. And, at present, there is no cure. Approximately 8.7M people have type 1 diabetes worldwide, a number expected to grow to 17.4M by 2040.
With T1D, the pancreas stops producing insulin—a hormone the body needs to get energy from food. This means a process the body does naturally and automatically becomes something that now requires daily attention and manual intervention. People with T1D must constantly monitor their blood-sugar level, inject insulin or infuse it through a pump, and carefully balance these insulin doses with eating and activity throughout the day and night.
Breakthrough T1D is the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. As we drive toward curing type 1 diabetes, we help make everyday life better for the people who face it.
Money raised by Breakthrough T1D Play events and initiatives furthers Breakthrough T1D’s efforts to make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. With your support, we are creating a movement to improve and change life with type 1 diabetes, advancing breakthroughs on the way to cure the condition.
No organization does more to improve everyday life with T1D—from driving millions of dollars of global investment in therapy development and access, to advancing research, advocacy, and community support. We connect the brightest minds to help advance treatments, influence policy, and improve access to care for those all over the world who need it.
After extensive market research, we determined that while our most engaged supporters saw our previous brand as having strong equity, the name did not accurately represent who we are, what we do, or the full spectrum of the community we support, especially among people less familiar with us.
Our leaders agreed that the name “JDRF” perpetuated misconceptions, with the word “Juvenile’” alienating adults, and the word “Research” failing to capture the full picture of what we do. Using the acronym “JDRF” as our name made it harder for people to engage with us, because they didn’t know—or couldn’t remember—the words represented by each letter.
Breakthrough T1D invites all audiences to progress together. The new name promises impacts large and small—from scientific breakthroughs and advocacy wins, to breaking through everyday obstacles. It’s a rallying cry to make an impact for everyone in the T1D community.