The speedrunning event AGDQ has raised a record amount during its annual event. The 3.4 million dollars will be donated to cancer research.
Awesome Games Done Quick, an annual speedrunning event, has raised $3,421,912.85 for The Prevent Cancer Foundation. Between January 9th, and January 16th, the speedrunning marathon raised close to $3.5 million in donations as fans watched speedrunners absolutely destroy some of their favorite games.
Speedrunning is a competitive pastime where gamers attempt to complete games in the fastest time possible. In the process, they shoot for world records, competing with players from across the globe. As a result, speedrunners will often push games to their limit, ignoring game mechanics, exploiting glitches, and otherwise breaking them in the name of optimizing their speed.
AGDQ races for the Record
For 12 years, AGDQ has raised money for charity. Since 2014, the event has raised at least one million dollars for each event. The marathon usually takes place in a hotel, becoming somewhat of a convention for Speedrunning as a secondary purpose. However, since 2021, the event has been conducted remotely due to COVID-19.
AGDQ 2022 featured over 100 different games and runners in all different formats. From direct races between multiple runners like the Super Mario Galaxy Any% Luigi Race to individual shows of skill such as the memorable Half-Life 2 run by Maltemller, there was sure to be a speedrun you’d enjoy.
This year the event broke the record previously set by AGDQ 2020, where the marathon raised $3,164,002. After a small decline in 2021, chalked up to the switch to a virtual event, 2022 has again broken records. It’s a return to form for the one of the largest gaming charity events in the world.
But it wasn’t always certain that the event would beat their record. With two hours left and two games, Deltarune and Metal Gear Solid, left on schedule, the event had only just hit three million. Which means that the final $400,000 was raised in less than a couple of hours. A race to the finish in more ways than one!
Missed out and looking for more?
If AGDQ has piqued your interest in speedrunning, but don’t want to wait an entire year, then have no worries. The post-event stream is still ongoing. And AGDQ’s sister event Summer Games Done Quick takes place, unsurprisingly, in summer, usually around June or July.
But if even summer is too long to way, then you should definitely look into European Speed Assembly Winter 2022. The event is scheduled to take place between February 12th and February 19th in Malmö, Sweden. The event will be the first speedrunning marathon to take place with in-person attendance since a spate of cancellations due to COVID.