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 successfully raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding the previous year's total by more than $100,000. This annual winter event, hosted by Games Done Quick (GDQ), featured thrilling speedruns of games like Crazy Taxi, Super Metroid, and a variety of other titles spanning multiple genres.

Awesome Games Done Quick, held every January, is one of GDQ's two mainline events, with the other being Summer Games Done Quick in July. Additionally, GDQ frequently organizes smaller events such as Frame Fatales and GDQ Express to bridge the gap between these major marathons. In October 2024, GDQ responded to Hurricane Helene's devastation in the Southeastern US by hosting 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 aid to disaster-stricken areas.

As the new year commenced, Awesome Games Done Quick continued its tradition of supporting vital causes. From January 5 to January 13, AGDQ 2025 raised an impressive $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, surpassing the 2024 event's total by over $100,000. The Prevent Cancer Foundation's mission centers on early cancer detection and prevention, as well as funding research and outreach programs. AGDQ 2025 marked yet another successful collaboration with the Prevent Cancer Foundation, contributing to the over $26 million raised by GDQ events for the organization. The event took place in Pittsburgh and was inaugurated by 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

One of the standout moments of AGDQ 2025 was a speedrun of the iconic Dreamcast game, Crazy Taxi. Known for its fast-paced gameplay, streaming Crazy Taxi presents challenges due to copyrighted music, often necessitating muting or risking a Twitch takedown. However, speedrunner Chuckles825 ingeniously overcame this hurdle by performing alongside a live band that covered the game's music during the run. This innovative 18-minute Crazy Taxi run captivated audiences and raised over $24,000 in donations.

The event concluded with an exciting randomized, four-player race of the SNES classic Super Metroid, where runners Eddie and Andy finished within a mere second of each other. GDQ is set to return on July 6 with Summer Games Done Quick 2025 in Minneapolis, where they will support Doctors Without Borders.