AGDQ 2025 Surpasses $2.5M in Charity Donations

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 an impressive $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding the 2024 event's total by over $100,000. This annual winter event, hosted by Games Done Quick (GDQ), featured thrilling speedruns from popular titles such as Crazy Taxi, Super Metroid, and a variety of other games spanning multiple genres.

Awesome Games Done Quick is one of GDQ's two flagship events, with the other being Summer Games Done Quick held in July. GDQ also organizes smaller events like Frame Fatales and GDQ Express throughout the year. In October 2024, GDQ responded to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in the Southeastern US with an impromptu Disaster Relief Done Quick event. In just over two days, this event raised over $45,000 for Direct Relief, a charity dedicated to providing emergency supplies, transportation, and medical response to disaster-stricken areas.

As the new year kicked off, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 continued its tradition of supporting cancer research. From January 5 to January 13, the event successfully raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, surpassing the previous year's total by more than $100,000. The Prevent Cancer Foundation focuses on early cancer detection and prevention, as well as funding research and outreach programs. This collaboration between GDQ and PCF has now raised over $26 million across multiple events. AGDQ 2025, held in Pittsburgh, was inaugurated with a swift run of the Switch version of Pikmin by speedrunner Ray0ken, completed in under 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 speedrun of Crazy Taxi, a beloved Dreamcast game. Although the game's use of copyrighted music typically poses streaming challenges, speedrunner Chuckles825 overcame this by being accompanied by a live band that performed covers of the game's iconic soundtrack during the run. This innovative 18-minute Crazy Taxi run not only captivated the audience but also raised 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 intense, with runners Eddie and Andy finishing within a mere second of each other. GDQ will return with Summer Games Done Quick 2025, set to take place in Minneapolis on July 6, where they will raise funds for Doctors Without Borders.