fundraisers feature volunteers speedrunning through retro and modern games, sometimes blindfolded, while commentators expertly explain their tricks and strategies.
Games Done Quick has been bringing together gamers for a charitable cause for over ten years. They have two main events every year: Awesome Games Done Quick in early January to benefit the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and Summer Games Done Quick in of Doctors Without Borders (or Médecins Sans Frontières). Games Done Quick has also held special marathons dedicated to helping lives affected by past disasters and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the organization has celebrated women in the speedrunning community in their Fatales marathons. In addition to the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders, the organization has donated to the AbleGamers Foundation, Malala Fund, The Trevor Project, and more. Last year, Awesome Games Done Quick raised $2.7 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. However, this pales in comparison to 2022’s record likely due to the pandemic moving the event exclusively online.
Games Done Quick celebrated their record on Twitter following the week-long 24-hour speedrunning marathon (via IGN). Awesome Games Done Quick has raised a whopping total of $3,416,729 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. This is the highest fundraising total Games Done Quick has achieved since January 2020, before the pandemic. Over $3.4 million will be used to save lives through cancer prevention and early detection. With their research, education, outreach, and advocacy, the Prevent Cancer Foundation intends to reduce cancer deaths by 40% by 2035. With Games Done Quick’s record-breaking fundraising, this goal can become a reality.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 donations did a speedrun of their own, hitting their first $1 million in the shortest time in the history of the organization. According to Games Done Quick’s donation tracker, the event pulled in over 28,000 donors with over 49,000 donations. There were 149 runs throughout the entire week, including an unbelievable blindfolded playthrough of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Like last year’s marathon that broke speedrun records, this year saw a few more achievements, like InsertLogic’s 28:35 run of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Jaxler’s 44:18 run of Pumpkin Jack, and ShadowthePast’s 17:21 run of Webbed.
Seeing the gaming community come together and break records is inspiring. Whether someone would be speedrunning, commentating, or watching on Twitch, they are taking part in ing a great cause. Sometimes, streams can leave a charity speechless. It does not look like Games Done Quick is stopping their great fundraising any time soon. Their next event, the all-women speedrunning event Frost Fatales, is slated to go on from February 27th to March 5th. Their anticipated Summer Games Done Quick 2022 is yet to be announced.
Source: Games Done Quick/Twitter (via IGN)