What just happened? Awesome Games Done Quick, the winter version of the bi-annual speedrunning marathon for charity, wrapped up over the weekend. After a full week of non-stop gaming action, organizers announced the event raised $3,416,729 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
It’s the most money ever raised at a single GDQ event and also the first event to break past the $1 million mark by Wednesday (events typically run from Sunday through Sunday).
AGDQ 2022 participants turned in some impressive runs during the marathon. This run of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice by Mitchriz in 2:00:35 was done completely blindfolded, and this attempt of Resident Evil Village in 1:55:54 by 7rayD is also worth a look.
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#AGDQ2022 has raised a total amount of $3,416,729 for @preventcancer! This is officially the most we’ve ever raised in the history of @GamesDoneQuick – ANOTHER WR?
Thank you to everyone who made this marathon possible, and thank you all for your generosity & support❤️— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) January 16, 2022
GDQ’s previous best for a week-long event happened at AGDQ 2020 in Orlando, Florida. The last in-person event before the pandemic raised $3,164,002, also for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. When the format shifted to virtual with Summer Games Done Quick later that year, donations dropped significantly to $2.35 million which is understandable given the new format and the uncertainty in the world at the time.
Speaking of, SGDQ is still on deck for later this year although it hasn’t been revealed yet if this will be another virtual event or if we’ll see a return to in-person shows. Fans are no doubt hoping for the latter but it’ll all depend on what the pandemic situation looks like in the months ahead.
The next event on the calendar is Frost Fatales 2022, an all-women charity speedrunning event that’ll take place from February 27 to March 5 to benefit the Malala Fund.
