Case Study

The Challenge

The creators of TheCivShow had an ambitious fundraising goal for their third annual charity multiplayer gaming event, but they needed a reliable connection to do it. TheCivShow ran the previous two years of their fundraiser on a different platform and experienced connectivity issues that caused desyncs during gameplay.

It was imperative that the game was smooth and stable without lag while the 12 gamers battled it out in Civilization VI, or else they could be booted off, essentially ending their game. And without the game, there would be no charity donations.

About TheCivGive 

TheCivGive invites players to raise money for the Gamers Outreach charity while playing Civilization VI. Hosts MoySauce, Nystagmus, and Razing Zozoinvite participants ranging from relatively unknown players in their global community to popular gamers with large followings. The third annual TheCivGive was held in December 2022.

TheCivGive 2022 by the numbers

12 Gamers playing Civilization VI

13 Computers + 3 shoutcasters 

102,503 Unique viewers for the event

$42,000 Funds raised for Gamers Outreach

The Solution

When Parsec heard about TheCivGive’s need to establish a great connection to the global fundraiser, it was an easy decision to donate Parsec for Teams. TheCivShow team was thrilled to deploy Parsec’s powerful remote desktop as the platform for their marathon Civilization VI event.

With a solid LAN connection and Parsec, TheCivGive connected game players from multiple countries, including Ireland, Canada, Romania, and the United States. After more than eight hours of gameplay, TheCivGive proudly announced a successful event, with no dropped players or connections and $42,000 raised for Gamers Outreach. 

How Parsec partnered with TheCivShow to power the third annual TheCivGive

1. Offered a world-class multiplayer gaming experience for viewers and participants.

Parsec delivered on the promise of providing a reliable streaming session to entertain viewers. The event was streamed by over 100,500 unique viewers, with up to 4,600 people tuning in at once. Engagement stayed high throughout the marathon, with over 3,400 chat messages exchanged on Twitch. “Parsec’s remote connection is fast and reliable,” said MoySauce, one of the three hosts and creators of TheCivShow. “It works great for gaming.” 

2.  Parsec + a physical LAN connected all players together easily and securely.

For TheCivGive, the team set up a physical LAN to ensure fast and smooth gameplay. Adding the machines to Parsec was a cinch since the LAN partner was confident in Parsec’s security features, which included encrypted streaming. With Civilization VI downloaded and installed through Steam, the event was technically ready to go with 13 computers on the LAN with a fast and reliable connection. 

“With Parsec and 13 computers on the LAN for all the players to remote in, we knew we couldn’t lose,” MoySauce said. “We wanted to make sure the players’ experience was stable and dependable. Parsec was by far the best solution.”  

3.  With a stable connection and exciting gameplay, TheCivGive motivated viewers to donate $42,000.

TheCivShow promoted TheCivGive across their platforms, and participants encouraged the community to watch and donate throughout the marathon. The stream gained even more momentum when Twitch featured TheCivGive on their front page. 

Parsec’s peer-to-peer desktop streaming is designed for gameplay and game design, so TheCivGive’s needs fit perfectly into Parsec’s sweet spot: near zero latency and easy access for gamers to connect and participate in the event. 

“Setting up the admin panel was easy,” MoySauce said. “Parsec sends an email to the players, and they signed up. We gave them a client ID and password, and they were pretty much connected to the computer. The entire process was streamlined and simple.” 

Moving forward: Partnering on future events and remote tournaments

TheCivGive has raised over $115,000 for charity over the past four years, and the team looks forward to continuing to host their annual event with Parsec in the future. “Parsec was a wonderful team to work with,” MoySauce said. “Thank you for being the perfect solution for our events.”