AGDQ 2025: Over $2.5M Raised for Charity

Summary

• Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, surpassing the 2024 total by $100,000.
• The organization's mission is focused on early cancer detection and prevention, along with funding research and outreach programs.
• The 18-minute Crazy Taxi run stole the show, raising over $24,000 in donations.

From January 5 to January 13, the Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2025 event raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding the 2024 event's total by over $100,000. This annual winter event, organized by Games Done Quick (GDQ), featured thrilling speedruns of games like Crazy Taxi, Super Metroid, and other titles spanning multiple genres.

Awesome Games Done Quick, held each January, is one of GDQ's two mainline events, with Summer Games Done Quick taking place in July. GDQ also hosts smaller events such as Frame Fatales and GDQ Express to keep the momentum going between marathons. In October 2024, GDQ organized an impromptu Disaster Relief Done Quick event in response to Hurricane Helene's devastation in the Southeastern US. In just over two days, this event raised over $45,000 for Direct Relief, a charity focused on providing emergency supplies, transportation, and medical response to disaster-affected areas.

As the new year began, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 raised an impressive $2.5 million for cancer research. From January 5 to January 13, AGDQ 2025's total was over $100,000 more than the previous year's event. The Prevent Cancer Foundation, which benefits from these funds, focuses on early cancer detection and prevention, as well as funding research and outreach programs. GDQ and the Prevent Cancer Foundation have a long-standing partnership, having raised over $26 million through various GDQ events. AGDQ 2025, held in Pittsburgh, kicked off with a swift run of the Switch version of Pikmin by speedrunner Ray0ken, completed within an hour.

Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 Raises Over $2.5 Million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation

A standout moment of AGDQ 2025 was the run of Crazy Taxi, a beloved Dreamcast game. Speedrunning this game presents challenges due to its copyrighted music, which can lead to streaming issues. However, speedrunner Chuckles825 overcame this by having a live band perform Crazy Taxi's soundtrack during the run. This innovative approach not only solved the music issue but also helped the 18-minute run raise over $24,000 in donations.

The final event of AGDQ 2025 was a randomized, four-player race of the SNES classic Super Metroid. The race was incredibly close, with runners Eddie and Andy finishing within one second of each other. GDQ will continue its efforts with Summer Games Done Quick 2025, scheduled for July 6 in Minneapolis, to support Doctors Without Borders.