Breakthrough T1D Play has raised $5M for diabetes research

The Breakthrough T1D Play program is a medical research charity raising money for critical research into diabetes, one of the biggest causes of death in the U.S.

And this week, gaming pioneer Will Wright helped raise money for the group, said Wright and said Josh Larson, national director of Breakthrough T1D Play, in interviews with GamesBeat.

Wright talked about his career, making games like Sim City, The Sims and more at companies like Maxis and Electronic Arts. The Sims franchise has generated more than $5 billion in revenue to date.

He’s now cofounder of his own startup Gallium Studios with Lauren Elliott and they’re working on a memory simulation game called Proxi. Wright, whose grandmother had T1D, also gave a sneak peek at what Proxi will be as part of a stream to raise money for the nonprofit.

Proxi is a new life simulation game about making magical connections with your memories and bringing them to life. The game is a lot like quantifying your memories, Wright said in an interview with GamesBeat.

In an interview, Wright noted there are a couple of people in his family with T1D as well as other people among friends and at his workplace too. That gave him good reasons to do the stream with Breakthrough T1D Play.

The Breakthrough T1D program focuses on cures for Type 1 diabetes, a disease which strikes one in 400 children. More than 1.6 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes (T1D), and 9.4 million have it worldwide. It’s on a trajectory to grow to 16 million by 2040. Although people can make lifestyle changes to help manage the disease, there is no cure at this time.

The Breakthrough T1D Play group formed in 2019. It was founded by game industry veterans who are parents of children with T1D. And they have raised over $5 million for research into new treatments and potential cures.

The program is backed by a powerful network of game industry vets who either have T1D themselves or have a close personal connection, from companies including Microsoft, PlayStation, EA, and Disney. With their support, Breakthrough T1D Play raises money and awareness through Humble Bundles, Steam sales, charity streams, and in-game integrations.

In the group’s Dev Diaries Twitch series, members of the Breakthrough T1D Play streaming community interview game devs about their careers while discussing their T1D connection (when applicable) and playing a game they worked on.

Wright joined to talk and play The Sims 2 and show off the new life sim called Proxi. One of Gallium Studios’ programmers, Justin Graham, a LucasArts and Maxis alumni, is working on Proxi and he has T1D.

The Sims has a unique connection with the T1D community, as The Sims 4 added medical wearables including CGMs and pumps to the game, said Larson.

“Our gaming program raises awareness and funding for Type 1 Diabetes research. I am still smiling today that we had Will Wright on a stream on our Twitch channel. That was a very cool moment for us,” Larson said. “We want to be where people are playing games, where they’re buying games, and where they’re watching games.”

One great aspect of Breakthrough T1D Play is that games-adjacent people are constantly coming out of the woodwork to tell us about their T1D connections, which helps us grow our network within the game industry and build our community among gamers and streamers. During yesterday’s Twitch stream, Will surprised us by mentioning that his grandfather had T1D.

In the past, living with diabetes was hard because the disease affected the body’s ability to generate insulin, which removes sugar, or glucose, from the bloodstream. If that sugar stays in the body, it can be very harmful and lead to severe illness or even death. That means those with diabetes have to monitor their glucose levels and make sure they stay within an acceptable range.

Some advances in treatment have happened during recent years. An automated insulin delivery (AID) system can now connect an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and use an algorithm that regulates the insulin dose to help keep you in range.

Type 1 Diabetes has no relation to diet and health and lifestyle. But people can get Type 2 Diabetes if they don’t control their diet properly. And the more obese the population gets, the more T2D becomes more likely.

I’ve tried glucose monitors a couple of times to see the impact of carbs/sugar on my body, and it is quite enlightening to see the immediate impact on my body. But others have to use it to avoid far more serious consequences.

Larson’s 13-year-old was diagnosed seven years ago and has had to use a continuous glucose monitor the whole time. Now she also has an insulin pump that automatically feeds insulin in as needed, thanks to an algorithm. That reduces wakeups for caregivers in the middle of the night, Larson said.

Larson said his daughter has been on the DIY Loop system for 4.5 years and it’s been a game-changer for the family. The results have been very positive and Breakthrough T1D’s advocacy efforts continue to work on improving access to this technology. In fact, the NHS in the UK has recommended these systems and is expanding access.

“It’s really more in the last several years that more solutions have been available,” Larson said.

However, the above AID systems do not represent a cure for T1D and do not alleviate the burden those who live with it. Meanwhile, the first disease-modifying treatment for T1D, Tzield, was recently approved by the FDA and can prevent the onset of T1D for high-risk individuals for up to three years.

Larson said he is hopeful when it comes to finding functional cures for the disease. The progress in cell therapies prompted Breakthough T1D to launch Project ACT (Accelerate Cell Therapies), an initiative to advance and accelerate commercially available stem cell-based islet cell therapies. In general, the research focuses on treatment, prevention and a cure, Larson said.