Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 raises $2.5 million for cancer research

Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) 2024 has wrapped after a nonstop weeklong speedrunning marathon. This year’s charity raised over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Other highlights included four broken world records and a dog named Peanut Butter beating the oddball NES classic Gyromite.

This year’s AGDQ, which took place in Pittsburgh, passed the million-dollar threshold early on day five. Standout playthroughs included a no-hit run of Resident Evil 2 (2019), Super Mario 64 finished entirely on an electric drum kit (in 23 minutes!), and a blindfolded four-player / one-controller run of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

World records broken in this year’s event included speed runner Glitchcat7 finishing the insanely difficult Super Mario World mod Luminescent in 41 minutes, 36 seconds. Talia finished the Celeste mod Strawberry Jam Collab in 49 minutes, 13 seconds. Mechalink beat the Sega Saturn game Virtual Hydlide in 27 minutes and 11 seconds. Finally, Bobbeigh conquered the Castlevania spiritual successor Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night — on hard mode — in 30 minutes and 24 seconds.

Games Done Quick / Ivan "Porkchop44"

Peanut Butter the Shiba Inu is now etched into the annals of GDQ history as the first canine-assisted speed run at one of the charity events. The well-trained pooch helped his owner (JSR_) finish the 1985 NES game Gyromite in 26 minutes and 24 seconds. He responded to well-timed commands, pressing his paws on a floor-pedal-operated controller to move the game’s red and green pipes up and down to lead Professor Hector to safety. (He was compensated with ham and cheese for his work.) You can watch Peanut Butter’s memorable run below.

This year’s AGDQ pushes the Games Done Quick fundraising total, stretching back 14 years, to more than $48.9 million. In addition to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the showcases have raised money for organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Malala Fund, Organization for Autism Research and CARE. The next marathon will be an all-women speedrunning event called Frost Fatales, held online from March 3 to 10, with proceeds benefitting the National Women’s Law Center.

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