Games Done Quick
Games Done Quick is a semiannual video game speedrun charity marathon held in the United States, originally organized by the Speed Demos Archive and SpeedRunsLive communities. Since 2015, it has been handled by Games Done Quick, LLC. Held since 2010, the events have raised money for several charities.
The two flagship events held by Games Done Quick are Awesome Games Done Quick, held in early January every year, which raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and Summer Games Done Quick, usually held in late June or early July every year, which raises money for Doctors Without Borders. Both events last for seven days. In addition to these events, GDQ hosts several other broadcasts throughout the year, including smaller marathons supporting different charities, one-off events for special occasions, and regular GDQ Hotfix programming throughout the year.
The events are broadcast live on Twitch and is simulacasted on YouTube since AGDQ 2026. Viewers are encouraged to donate for incentives during the stream such as selecting the name of the save-file or main characters, having the runners attempt more difficult challenges, and entering sweepstakes for a chance to win prizes. As of January 2026, over $59.8 million has been raised through over a million individual donations.
Format
take turns demonstrating their prowess at beating various video games in the quickest possible time, done in front of an audience as well as a livestream through Twitch. Sometimes these runs may be executed in an unusual or specific way, such as fully completing every level, completing a game blindfolded, or featuring multiple runners racing against one another to complete a game first. Video games run in Games Done Quick events include both retro and modern titles. The runs typically feature commentary from the runner or experienced commentators, as well as donation messages read by an announcer.Most of the popular runs feature video game glitches and discussion between the runner and the commentators, most frequently describing techniques or using observational humor and banter. Humor and banter is especially used for non-interactive or repetitive sequences that don't require the runner to use much or any skill. Donations from viewers may feature humorous comments that contain inside jokes among the speedrunning community, as well as more personal acknowledgments concerning donations. Because of the live broadcast and wider audience, runners and commentators are encouraged to refrain from using strong profanity and offensive behavior.
When donating, donors have the option to put their money towards a particular incentive. These incentives can be in the form of bonus speedruns, showcases of additional tricks or glitches, or an in-game decision such as naming the player character.
History
Writer and speedrunner Eric Koziel identifies two important precursors to Games Done Quick: the "Desert Bus for Hope" donation drive organized by LoadingReadyRun in November 2007, and a series of charity speedrun marathons held by TheSpeedGamers starting in March 2008.Users of the site Speed Demos Archive decided to hold a charity marathon in January 2010, during MAGFest 8. It was themed around 8-bit and 16-bit video games and thus dubbed "Classic Games Done Quick". Internet connectivity problems at the MAGFest hotel forced SDA administrator Mike Uyama to relocate the event to his mother's residence, but it raised over $10,000 for CARE.
Following that initial success, the first Awesome Games Done Quick marathon was held in January 2011, expanding from two days to five days, incorporating newer games such as Halo and Portal, and raising more than $50,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The first Summer Games Done Quick was held in August 2011, raising $20,000 for the Organization for Autism Research. Since then, both Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick have recurred annually, soon raising significantly larger amounts than these early marathons.
A one-off additional marathon was held in March 2011 to support victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; Japan Relief Done Quick raised over $25,000. In addition, a one-off promotional event was held on March 20, 2015, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the God of War franchise. Over the course of five hours, God of War Done Quick ended up raising $3,500 for The [AbleGamers Foundation].
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer 2020 marathon, both 2021 marathons, and the Winter 2022 marathon were held as virtual events. In-person attendance returned for SGDQ 2022 under strict social distancing, masking, and vaccine mandate protocol, with all attendees required to have a full series of COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose, while also continuing to intersperse remote runners alongside those present on-stage. The Winter AGDQ 2023 event was intended to be an in-person event held in Orlando, Florida, but was moved to a virtual event after controversies due to the Florida state government's stances on LGBT rights and COVID-19. Ahead of the event, Uyama announced that he would be stepping down from his role in GDQ after 13 years "to take care of my health and kind of focus on different activities". In February 2023, it was announced he had postponed his departure to cover for his successor's illness.
Speedrunning records have been set at various GDQ marathons in games including Super Mario Galaxy 2, Superman 64 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
List of marathons
Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ)
Originally called Classic Games Done Quick, this annual marathon is held every year in early January. It raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.| Dates | Venue | Amount raised | Notes |
| ' Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia, during MAGFest 8 ' private residence | $10,532 | Charity fundraised for was CARE. | |
| National 4-H Youth Conference Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland | $52,520 | First event to be called Awesome Games Done Quick. Raised money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. | |
| National 4-H Youth Conference Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland | $149,045 | ||
| National 4-H Youth Conference Center, Chevy Chase, Maryland | $448,425 | ||
| Crowne Plaza Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $1,031,666 | First GDQ event to raise over $1 million | |
| Hilton Washington Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $1,576,085 | ||
| Hilton Washington Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $1,216,309 | ||
| Hilton Washington Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $2,222,791 | First GDQ event to raise over $2 million, as well as the first GDQ event to raise over $1 million in a single day | |
| Hilton Washington Dulles, Herndon, Virginia | $2,295,191 | ||
| Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Rockville, Maryland | $2,425,791 | ||
| DoubleTree Hilton, Orlando, Florida | $3,164,002 | Second GDQ event to raise over $3 million | |
| No in-person venue | $2,739,612 | Conducted as a virtual event with no central venue due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| No in-person venue | $3,442,033 | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19. Current donation record set at a GDQ event. | |
| No in-person venue | $2,672,553 | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of its venue contract. | |
| Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $2,539,832 | ||
| Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $2,583,405 | ||
| Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | $2,445,186 | ||
| TBA, Atlanta, Georgia |
Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ)
Introduced in 2011 as a companion to AGDQ, this marathon is usually held in late June or early July and raises money for Doctors Without Borders. Since 2015, the event has typically been held in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region.| Dates | Venue | Amount raised | Notes |
| A participant's residence in West Bountiful, Utah | $21,397 | Charity fundraised for was the Organization for Autism Research. | |
| A participant's residence in West Bountiful, Utah | $46,279 | Charity fundraised for was the Organization for Autism Research. | |
| Sheraton Denver Tech Center, Greenwood Village, Colorado | $257,181 | Raised money for Doctors Without Borders. | |
| Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado | $718,235 | $82,985 of the funds were raised through the SGDQ 2014 Bundle. | |
| Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Saint Paul, Minnesota | $1,215,601 | ||
| Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $1,294,140 | First SGDQ to raise more than the AGDQ of the same year | |
| Minneapolis Marriott City Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $1,792,342 | ||
| DoubleTree Hilton, Bloomington, Minnesota | $2,168,914 | ||
| DoubleTree Hilton, Bloomington, Minnesota | $3,039,596 | First GDQ event to raise over $3 million, and first time an all-time GDQ donation record was set at SGDQ | |
| No in-person venue | $2,345,786 | Delayed from the original date, and conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 | |
| No in-person venue | $2,938,715 | Conducted as a virtual event due to COVID-19 | |
| DoubleTree Hilton, Bloomington, Minnesota | $3,053,827 | First in-person GDQ event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic | |
| Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $2,268,302 | ||
| Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $2,576,741 | ||
| Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota | $2,464,026 | ||
| Hilton Minneapolis Downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Special marathons
Games Done Quick Express is an annual three-day marathon held at TwitchCon since 2018. There was no Games Done Quick Express event held in 2020 or 2021 due to the cancellation of TwitchCon those years, nor was there a Games Done Quick Express event held during the 2022 TwitchCon.Frame Fatales is a week-long marathon featuring only women and non-binary runners. It started in 2019 as a four-day event and started fundraising for the Malala Fund in 2020. As of 2022, the event has been held twice a year in February–March and August as Frost Fatales and Flame Fatales, respectively.
| Marathon | Dates | Venue | Charity | Amount raised | Notes |
| Japan Relief Done Quick | No in-person venue | Doctors Without Borders | $25,800 | A marathon to support victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami | |
| Speedrun Spooktacular | No in-person venue | Lindsey King | $9,733 | A marathon to help medical bills for Lindsey King, an artist for Speed Demos Archive | |
| God of War Done Quick | Santa Monica Studio | AbleGamers | $3,500+ | A special event at Santa Monica Studio as part of the 10-year anniversary of the God of War franchise | |
| Harvey Relief Done Quick | No in-person venue | Houston Food Bank | $229,455 | A marathon to support victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas | |
| Games Done Quick Express 2018 | San Jose Convention Center | 10 charities | $139,879 | ||
| Games Done Quick Express 2019 | San Diego Convention Center | AbleGamers | $152,595 | ||
| Classic Games Done Quick 10th Anniversary | No in-person venue | N/A | N/A | A marathon replicating the schedule of the first event held in January 2010 to celebrate 10 years of Games Done Quick | |
| Frost Fatales 2020 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $54,287 | A marathon dedicated to women in speedrunning, running 8 hours a day | |
| Corona Relief Done Quick | April 17–19, 2020 | No in-person venue | Direct Relief | $403,632 | A marathon to help improve the health and lives of people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Launch Celebration | No in-person venue | The Trevor Project | $4,434 | A marathon celebrating the release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 | |
| Fleet Fatales 2020 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $81,396 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Flame Fatales 2021 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $127,266 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Frost Fatales 2022 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $132,982 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Flame Fatales 2022 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $135,512 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Frost Fatales 2023 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $153,417 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Flame Fatales 2023 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $110,983 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Games Done Quick Express 2023 | Las Vegas Convention Center | AbleGamers | $36,060 | ||
| Frost Fatales 2024 | No in-person venue | National [Women's Law Center] | $155,267 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Flame Fatales 2024 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $118,792 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Speedrun Stage @ PAX West 24 | Seattle Convention Center | N/A | N/A | A marathon hosted by Games Done Quick at PAX West 2024 | |
| Games Done Quick Express 2024 | San Diego Convention Center | AbleGamers | $36,412 | ||
| Disaster Relief Done Quick 2024 | No in-person venue | Direct Relief | $45,466 | A marathon to support recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton | |
| Back to Black 2025 | No in-person venue | Race Forward | $44,025 | ||
| Frost Fatales 2025 | No in-person venue | National Women's Law Center | $151,818 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Speedrun Stage @ PAX East 25 | Boston Convention and Exhibition Center | N/A | N/A | A marathon hosted by Games Done Quick at PAX East 2025 | |
| Speedrun Stage @ PAX West 25 | Seattle Convention Center | N/A | N/A | A marathon hosted by Games Done Quick at PAX West 2025 | |
| Flame Fatales 2025 | No in-person venue | Malala Fund | $154,388 | An all-women speedrunning event | |
| Games Done Quick Express 2025 | San Diego Convention Center | World Central Kitchen | $31,176 | ||
| Games Done Queer | No in-person venue | Lambda Legal Defense Fund | $53,841 | An event celebrating LGBTQIA+ runners and communities | |
| Back to Black 2026 | No in-person venue | Race Forward | |||
| Frost Fatales 2026 | No in-person venue | National Women's Law Center | An all-women speedrunning event |
Controversies
As GDQ events have become more popular, there have been several controversies, with players and commentators being banned, and with the stream chat having to be muted. GDQ has noted they advise attendees to avoid "topics of conversation that are polarizing or controversial in nature" as well as avoiding harassing other players. Some attendees have been banned for making inappropriate comments, although there are criticisms that some of the bans may be without merit.In 2017, a commentator, PvtCinnamonBun, on a speedrun of the game Ape Escape 2 for AGDQ 2017, was banned from all future events for supposedly wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat on stream shortly after Donald Trump's 2016 [United States presidential election|election] to the United States presidency. However, according to Kotaku, PvtCinnamonBun's ban was revoked since it was not actually a MAGA hat, but GDQ officials banned him again for supposedly unplugging a power strip cable. Another speedrunner, Cyberdemon531, was also banned from the event for owning the MAGA hat in the first place.
In 2018, speedrunner "BubblesDelFuego", who speedruns Dark Souls and Fallout 4, was banned from all future GDQ events after sharing edible medicinal cannabis with a friend, which resulted in that friend having a panic attack and being transported to the hospital by paramedics. Bubbles consumed edible cannabis for chronic pain resulting from complications with Hodgkin lymphoma. Bubbles told Kotaku that although he understood why he was banned, he believed that the GDQ "enforcement" staff abused their power and were misinformed about tetrahydrocannabinol, the active chemical in cannabis.
At SGDQ 2019, speedrunner "QuinnAce" used a spliced run to illegitimately claim the world record on Clustertruck for the "NoAbility%" category, depriving the legitimate record holder from being invited. The run was treated with suspicion due to it not being submitted officially to speedrun.com, with the video being unlisted on YouTube prior to QuinnAce's acceptance into SGDQ. In October 2019, QuinnAce's run was exposed by the YouTuber documentarian Apollo Legend.
At AGDQ 2020, various runners, including "Luzbelheim", were scheduled to run a relay playthrough of Final Fantasy VIII. Hours before, however, Luz's Twitter bio went viral for his comment that he hates "feminazism", identifies as "deminonbinary", and he uses the pronouns "luz/luz". Other online news publications negatively reacted to GDQ organizers allowing Luz to play in the relay playthrough. Luz was given a ban without details about its length.
At SGDQ 2022, speedrunner "Mekarazium" admitted that he faked a run of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Blade Wolf DLC. The game was played remotely, unlike most of the other games at the event, and the DLC was a donation incentive. While the main game was played live by Mekarazium, the DLC was pre-recorded. Viewers quickly noted discrepancies with the run. Mekarazium admitted to faking the run and was banned from future GDQ events.