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 focuses on early cancer detection and prevention, as well as 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, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2025 successfully raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, exceeding the 2024 event's total by more than $100,000. This annual winter event, hosted by Games Done Quick (GDQ), featured an array of thrilling speedruns from popular games like Crazy Taxi, Super Metroid, and many others across various genres.
Awesome Games Done Quick, held every January, is one of GDQ's two mainline events, with Summer Games Done Quick taking place in July. In addition to these major events, GDQ regularly organizes smaller events such as Frame Fatales and GDQ Express to keep the community engaged between marathons. Notably, in October 2024, GDQ hosted an impromptu Disaster Relief Done Quick event to aid those affected by Hurricane Helene in the Southeastern US. Within just over two days, this event raised over $45,000 for Direct Relief, a charity that provides emergency supplies, transportation, and medical assistance to disaster-stricken areas.
As the new year began, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 made a significant impact by raising over $2.5 million for cancer research. The event, which ran from January 5 to January 13, exceeded the previous year's total by over $100,000. The Prevent Cancer Foundation, the beneficiary of these funds, focuses on early cancer detection and prevention, and supports research and outreach initiatives. This collaboration between GDQ and the Prevent Cancer Foundation has now raised over $26 million across multiple GDQ events. AGDQ 2025 was held in Pittsburgh and commenced 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
One of the standout moments of AGDQ 2025 was a unique run of Crazy Taxi, a beloved Dreamcast game. Despite the challenges posed by copyrighted music, speedrunner Chuckles825 was joined by a live band that performed Crazy Taxi's soundtrack in sync with the gameplay. This innovative approach allowed the 18-minute run to raise over $24,000 in donations.
The final event of AGDQ 2025 featured a randomized, four-player race of the SNES classic Super Metroid, where runners Eddie and Andy finished within a mere second of each other. GDQ's next major event, Summer Games Done Quick 2025, is scheduled for July 6 in Minneapolis, and will support Doctors Without Borders.
