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 an array of speedruns from popular titles like Crazy Taxi, Super Metroid, and others spanning multiple genres.

Held annually in January, Awesome Games Done Quick is one of two major events hosted by GDQ, with Summer Games Done Quick taking place in July. Additionally, GDQ regularly organizes smaller events such as Frame Fatales and GDQ Express to bridge the gap between the main marathons. In October 2024, GDQ responded to Hurricane Helene's impact on the Southeastern US with an impromptu Disaster Relief Done Quick event, raising over $45,000 in just over two days for Direct Relief, a charity focused on emergency aid.

As the new year kicked off, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 raised a significant sum for cancer research. From January 5 to January 13, the event amassed over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, surpassing the previous year's total by more than $100,000. The Prevent Cancer Foundation emphasizes early cancer detection and prevention, as well as funding research and outreach initiatives. This collaboration between GDQ and PCF has historically raised over $26 million across multiple events. AGDQ 2025, held in Pittsburgh, began 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 title. Known for its fast-paced gameplay, Crazy Taxi poses streaming challenges due to copyrighted music. However, speedrunner Chuckles825 overcame this by performing alongside a live band that played the game's soundtrack in sync with the gameplay. This innovative 18-minute run of Crazy Taxi raised over $24,000 in donations.

The event concluded with a thrilling randomized, four-player race of the SNES classic Super Metroid, where runners Eddie and Andy finished just one second apart. GDQ's next event, Summer Games Done Quick 2025, is scheduled for July 6 in Minneapolis, supporting Doctors Without Borders.