Gaming marathon raises $3.7m for charity

A huge speedrunning marathon has raised an incredible $3.7 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation with some spectacular runs.

Awesome Games Done Quick, the first of two massive speedrunning events set to take place this year, has brought in over $3.7 million in donations for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Games Done Quick (GDQ) is the biggest gaming marathon on the planet, occurring twice per year with the Awesome Games Done Quick event usually taking place at the start of the year, and the Summer Games Done Quick event taking place in the middle of the year.

During GDQ events, dozens of streamers and content creators come together to produce a week of non-stop speedrunning streams. Speedrunners typically aim to complete a game in as short a time as possible, with runners often competing over months and years to hone their skills and take home records.

GDQ is a little bit different, however, as the point of the event is less to break records, but more to provide entertainment and encourage viewers to donate to charity. GDQ events have been taking place annually since 2010, and have raised over $60 million for various charities over the years.

Games Done Quick events often have runners competing against each other in races. Picture: GDQ

Despite the focus on entertainment, a number of runs during the event did set new records. A new Super Mario Galaxy 2 record was set, with speedrunner Jhay shaving over 40 seconds off the previous record during a four-person race.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge also had a new record set in its co-operative category. Paul-Knives and Benja teamed up for a skilful run of the game’s multiplayer mode, and managed to beat the previous record for the game by almost four whole minutes.

Another interesting run during the event was for Steven Seagal Is: The Final Option, a game that was never actually released. Instead, speedrunner Crak Atak played through the game’s beta prototype, setting yet another record by clearing all stages in 24 minutes.

Games Done Quick is a good way for streamers to show off smaller games, such as Fashion Police Squad. Picture: GDQ

AGDQ 2023 was set to take place in Florida, but multiple policies enacted in the state caused the charity event to cancel its in-person aspect. The organisation behind GDQ events said that Florida’s “continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers and an increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals” meant that it was no longer safe to hold the event there.

In other speedrunning news, popular streamer xQc recently set a new Minecraft record, after a years-long rivalry over the record with fellow streamer Forsen.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.