# Games Done Quick
**Games Done Quick** (GDQ) is a series of semi-annual charity video game speedrunning marathons held in the United States, in which skilled players complete games as fast as possible on a live-streamed, week-long broadcast while viewers donate to charity. It was founded by Mike Uyama in 2010 and has grown from a 20-person gathering in his mother's basement into a professional production that has raised more than $62 million for charity.[1](https://www.ivghof.info/project/games-done-quick/) • [2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/) • [3](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 by Mike Uyama; first event called Classic Games Done Quick, held in Uyama's mother's basement after MAGFest could not provide adequate internet upload[1](https://www.ivghof.info/project/games-done-quick/) • [2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/) |
| Flagship events | Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) each January for the Prevent Cancer Foundation; Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) each summer for Doctors Without Borders[4](https://rec0ded88.com/statistics/speedrunning-community/) |
| Format | Week-long, 24-hour marathons with upwards of 150 games run and live-streamed on GDQ's official Twitch channel[5](https://aux.engineering.ucsc.edu/publications/Sher_Su-Speedrunning_Charity-CSCW19.pdf) |
| Total raised | $62,621,915.71 across 1,074,278 logged donations, per the official donation tracker[3](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/) |
| Recent totals | AGDQ 2026 raised $2,443,414 on-stream; SGDQ 2026 reached $2,436,821.20 from 31,976 donations[4](https://rec0ded88.com/statistics/speedrunning-community/) • [6](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/event/66) |
| Organization | A privately held event company, not a charity itself; donations are routed directly to partner foundations[7](https://nerdic.news/culture/agdq-charity-speedrun-marathons/) |
| Typical donation | Most donations arrive in small increments, usually about $20[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/games-done-quick-agdq-sgdq-mike-uyama-speedrunning-gaming-charity/) |
## History
The first event was planned for MAGFest, the annual Music and Gaming Festival, in 2010, but the venue could not provide internet with a decent upload speed, so Uyama moved the stream to his mother's house about a 10-minute drive away. The stream, then called Classic Games Done Quick, ran non-stop for roughly 50 hours and raised $10,532 for CARE, a Switzerland-based humanitarian agency.[2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/games-done-quick-agdq-sgdq-mike-uyama-speedrunning-gaming-charity/) Uyama, who ran the event under the banner of his website Speed Demos Archive, said the charity-stream idea came from two similar events, SpeedGamers and Desert Bus for Hope.[2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/)
In 2011 the event expanded from classic games to all types of games, taking the name Awesome Games Done Quick, and began raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, based in [Alexandria, Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandria-virginia). The foundation was crucial to early growth: director of operations Matt Merkle said it was willing to invest in equipment and logistics on the expectation of larger returns, and after a couple of years GDQ could fund itself.[2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/)
Growth required deliberate management. Merkle told EGM that the organization controls attendance growth so it does not outpace what staff are prepared to handle.[2](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/) The January 2020 event in Orlando drew about 3,500 in-person attendees, and when the pandemic shut live events down, the marathons moved fully online and continued to grow.[9](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/08/awesome-games-done-quick-florida) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/games-done-quick-agdq-sgdq-mike-uyama-speedrunning-gaming-charity/)
## Format and donation incentives
A running on-screen donation tracker turns the marathon into a collective goal, with the community pushing to clear the next threshold.[10](https://streamernews.gg/news/games-done-quick-and-charity-speedrunning/)
Donation incentives structure the fundraising. Viewers donate to unlock additional challenges, new content, naming rights for in-game characters, raffle entries, and bid-based choices between options; minimums for incentives are usually a few dollars.[11](https://crowd.gamesdonequick.com/?trk=public_post-text) • [7](https://nerdic.news/culture/agdq-charity-speedrun-marathons/) Runs land on the event's video channel within days, so the marathon also serves as a curated archive of speedrunning highlights.[7](https://nerdic.news/culture/agdq-charity-speedrun-marathons/) Collaborative spectacles are part of the format: at AGDQ 2026, a 70-person [Super Mario 64](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-mario-64) run used several redundant [Nintendo 64](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-64) consoles with nearly identical save files so the run could continue after hardware failures.[12](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-agdq-pulled-off-a-70-person-super-mario-64-speedrun/1100-6537361/)
## Fundraising scale and beneficiaries
AGDQ has raised money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation every January since 2010, and SGDQ raises money for Doctors Without Borders ([Médecins Sans Frontières](https://www.edgepedia.org/medecins-sans-frontieres)).[13](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/speedrun-charity-awesome-games-done-quick-2026-raised-over-2-4-million-for-cancer-research/1100-6537336/) • [4](https://rec0ded88.com/statistics/speedrunning-community/) At AGDQ 2026, a milestone noted that when the event total reached $1,473,393, GDQ's cumulative giving to the Prevent Cancer Foundation would hit $30 million.[14](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/milestones/AGDQ2026) On the Doctors Without Borders side, SGDQ 2019 raised more than $3 million from 50,906 donations, and the summer 2021 event raised over $2.9 million, which the aid organization called its largest fundraising event of that year.[15](https://library.usi.edu/nanna/record/1416584/files/Luttrull%20Thesis%20-%2012032019%20FINAL.pdf?registerDownload=1&version=1&withMetadata=0&withWatermark=0) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/games-done-quick-agdq-sgdq-mike-uyama-speedrunning-gaming-charity/)
The organization has also run smaller marathons benefiting other causes, including relief events such as Japan Relief Done Quick, Harvey Relief Done Quick, and Corona Relief Done Quick.[10](https://streamernews.gg/news/games-done-quick-and-charity-speedrunning/) • [6](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/event/66)
## Other events and community
Beyond the two flagship marathons, GDQ operates a calendar of side events, including Flame Fatales and Frost Fatales, which focus on feminine-presenting speedrunners, Speedrun Stage events at PAX West and PAX East, Games Done Quick Express, and Games Done Queer, a 36-hour show supporting LGBT rights that received 450 hours of submitted content.[6](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/event/66) • [16](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/gdqs-upcoming-event-games-done-queer-has-already-become-a-fierce-rallying-cry-of-support-for-lgbt-rights-in-the-us-we-had-450-hours-of-content-submitted-for-the-36-hour-show/) In 2026 GDQ hosted a live event at Gamescom in the Koelnmesse in Germany, its first appearance at that trade fair, with business director Ashley Farkas describing the event's appeal as people coming together for a cause they care about.[17](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/events-conferences/it-really-is-accepting-of-of-everybody-how-games-done-quick-uses-community-to-make-a-difference/)
The organization has made location and partnership decisions on community-safety grounds. AGDQ 2023 was moved out of Florida, where a venue had been rented in Orlando, with organizers citing the state's COVID-19 policies and what they called increased aggression toward LGBTQ+ individuals; director of operations Matt Merkle said the decision was made first and foremost for the safety of the community.[9](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/08/awesome-games-done-quick-florida) In 2026, after SGDQ closed at about $2.4 million for Doctors Without Borders, GDQ canceled a planned sponsored showcase with the game developer SNK, acknowledging it had failed to conduct the level of review its community should expect; SNK has been majority-owned since 2022 by the MiSK Foundation, which is owned by Saudi Arabia's crown prince.[18](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/summer-games-done-quick-raises-usd2-4-million-for-charity-cancels-sponsored-stream-with-snk-over-saudi-arabia-ties/)
## References
1. [Games Done Quick, The International Video Game Hall of Fame](https://www.ivghof.info/project/games-done-quick/)
2. [The Origins of Awesome Games Done Quick, EGM](https://egmnow.com/the-origins-of-awesome-games-done-quick/)
3. [All Events Index, GDQ Donation Tracker](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/)
4. [Speedrunning Statistics 2026, rec0ded88](https://rec0ded88.com/statistics/speedrunning-community/)
5. [Speedrunning for Charity: How Donations Gather Around a Live Streamed Couch, PACM HCI Vol. 3 CSCW](https://aux.engineering.ucsc.edu/publications/Sher_Su-Speedrunning_Charity-CSCW19.pdf)
6. [Summer Games Done Quick 2026, GDQ Donation Tracker](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/event/66)
7. [How AGDQ Charity Marathons Work, NERDIC](https://nerdic.news/culture/agdq-charity-speedrun-marathons/)
8. [Once adrift, Mike Uyama built a gaming marathon for charity, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/games-done-quick-agdq-sgdq-mike-uyama-speedrunning-gaming-charity/)
9. [Gaming charity shuns Florida, says state policies are unsafe, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/09/08/awesome-games-done-quick-florida)
10. [Games Done Quick and the Rise of Charity Speedrunning, StreamerNews](https://streamernews.gg/news/games-done-quick-and-charity-speedrunning/)
11. [Games Done Quick donation hub](https://crowd.gamesdonequick.com/?trk=public_post-text)
12. [How AGDQ Pulled Off A 70-Person Super Mario 64 Speedrun, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-agdq-pulled-off-a-70-person-super-mario-64-speedrun/1100-6537361/)
13. [Speedrun Charity Awesome Games Done Quick 2026 Raised Over $2.4 Million, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/speedrun-charity-awesome-games-done-quick-2026-raised-over-2-4-million-for-cancer-research/1100-6537336/)
14. [Milestone Index, Awesome Games Done Quick 2026, GDQ Donation Tracker](https://tracker.gamesdonequick.com/tracker/milestones/AGDQ2026)
15. [Luttrull thesis, University of Southern Indiana](https://library.usi.edu/nanna/record/1416584/files/Luttrull%20Thesis%20-%2012032019%20FINAL.pdf?registerDownload=1&version=1&withMetadata=0&withWatermark=0)
16. [Games Done Queer, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/events-conferences/gdqs-upcoming-event-games-done-queer-has-already-become-a-fierce-rallying-cry-of-support-for-lgbt-rights-in-the-us-we-had-450-hours-of-content-submitted-for-the-36-hour-show/)
17. [How Games Done Quick uses community to make a difference, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/events-conferences/it-really-is-accepting-of-of-everybody-how-games-done-quick-uses-community-to-make-a-difference/)
18. [Summer Games Done Quick raises $2.4 million, cancels SNK stream, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/summer-games-done-quick-raises-usd2-4-million-for-charity-cancels-sponsored-stream-with-snk-over-saudi-arabia-ties/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Industry events and awards › Community and competitive play events*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license