One Special Rematch Kicks Off

The gloves are off and the boots are on as the Xbox Game Studios teams of Rare and Playground Games prepare for this week’s footballing face-off! St. George’s Park is ready for a flurry of studs to arrive on pitch on Friday, October 1st, with the two teams playing in support of SpecialEffect’s One Special Day.

If you missed the announcement the first time around, don’t worry: we’ve got the soccer-based synopsis with all the important details for you right here. Last December, the two studios played a feisty FIFA match to raise funds for the wonderful folks at SpecialEffect. Rare were, regrettably, bested on that occasion – but we now have the chance to settle the score in a real-life showdown.

The derby, lovingly christened El Gamepassico in 2020, moves from the virtual stage to a slightly more epic one this year – with the IRL match being played at the training ground of the England National Team. The teams also find themselves slightly expanded, with familiar Xbox faces such as Graeme Boyd joining the player line-up for Playground Games (an outrageous act of betrayal which we expect to lead to him being marked very vigorously).

If you’d like to donate to this amazing cause, we’ve got good news for you: the official JustGiving page is set up and ready to receive any kind donations you can spare, however large or small.

To watch what promises to be a thrilling clash of two Xbox Game Studios titans, tune in to www.twitch.tv/xbox from 6:00pm BST on October 1st. An all star commentary line-up in the form of Gav Murphy, Inel Tomlinson, Steffan Powell and Claire Lim will be there to talk you through the action, with full match preamble and post-match interviews promised. You won’t want to miss it!

As part of Team Xbox, we couldn’t be prouder to support SpecialEffect’s mission to level the playing field for all gamers with disabilities. And yes, while there’s an enormous amount of pride at stake for both teams, we’re thrilled to be able to do our part for such a worthy cause. When everyone plays, we all win – and you can quote us on that. Especially if we lose.