Annual Speedrun Marathon for Charity AGDQ 2016 Starts Today

An event for the calendars for the many speedrunning and video game fans out there, Awesome Games Done Quick, or AGDQ as it is often known is kicking off its 2016 event today at 4:30 PM GMT or 11:30 AM EST. AGDQ 2016 will be kicking off with Splatoon and continue to run, non-stop until next Sunday, when the marathon will wind down with Super Metroid and Final Fantasy IV runs. All money received during the marathon (as well as through Twitch subscriptions) will be donated to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and will be hoping to break last year’s record of over 1.5 million dollars raised.

For those not in the loop, “Games Done Quick” are a number of collaboration events run by Speed Demos Archive, which have been running since 2010. Since then, Games Done Quick has grown to run at least two events annually, Awesome Games Done Quick in January and Summer Games Done Quick in August, each event focusing on the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders respectively.

These are also great community events, bringing together over 100 speedrunners and countless more watchers and staff to celebrate the breaking of games old and new for the sake of charity. Additionally, the GDQ events are streamed live on twitch through the gamesdonequick channel. This also gives publicity to the many speedrunners that make up the event and entertains thousands of fans worldwide (while also ruining their sleep schedule and work productivity).

If you’re not the kind of person who wants to commit to watching speedruns 24/7, the schedule for AGDQ 2016 can be found here. Whether you’re a long-time fan of speedrunning and the GDQ events or this is your first time watching, please let us know what runs you’re most hyped for in the comments below. I’m personally looking forward to the Punch Out games, after AGDQ 2014, where Sinister1 got a personal best time live, while blindfolded.