Really good gamers raise $2.5 million for a good cause

Dieser Speedrun wird mit einer Liveband begleitet.

The fundraising campaign Awesome Games Done Quick kicks off 2025 with over 2.5 million US dollars in collected donations. The reason for this is gamers showcasing their skills in speedrunning.

What kind of fundraising campaign is this? Awesome Games Done Quick is an annual event where gamers come together for various speedruns of games. Donations are collected, often for the Prevent Cancer Foundation or the Doctors Without Borders Foundation.

A speedrun is about completing a game as quickly as possible. There are different categories with their own rules. For example, games can be completed using or not using glitches and bugs. The version of a game also plays a role.

Speedrunners can apply with their speedrun for the event and are then assigned a time and a stage. A live audience watches the speedrun, and the event is simultaneously broadcasted on the Twitch channel GamesDoneQuick. Afterward, the individual speedruns are uploaded to the namesake YouTube channel.

This year, Games Done Quick took place from January 5 to 12.

Feel free to check out this interview with Bisalina, who talks about the speedrunning scene:

Start video
Interview with Bisalina – This is the current speedrunning scene and its development over the years

Speedrunning for a good cause

How much money was raised? This year’s event raised a total of 2,556,305 US dollars for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The foundation focuses on programs that ensure cancer can be detected more quickly or, ideally, completely prevented.

By offering their own categories or special actions in the upcoming video games, viewers are encouraged to donate more. For example, viewers can decide which ending they want to see in a video game. They can then donate for their preferred ending, and all proceeds benefit the foundation in the end.

Overall, Games Done Quick has raised over 54 million US dollars in its 15-year history. The highest revenue was in the summer of 2022 with 3.4 million US dollars.

Speedrun with live band

A special highlight of the fundraising campaign was the speedrun by Chuckles825, who played Crazy Taxi while a live band provided the music in the background. They covered the songs featured in the game.

Every time the speedrunner made a mistake, such as failing to complete a level, the band would start playing again. Additionally, the speedrun involved the live audience. With their donations, the viewers could decide which vehicle the speedrunner had to use.

You can watch the speedrun on YouTube here:

Recommended editorial content

At this point you will find external content from YouTube that complements the article.

I consent to external content being displayed to me. Personal data can be transmitted to third party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Link to the YouTube content

Games Done Quick is a great opportunity for speedrunners to showcase their special skills. A very special speedrun record was broken by the Twitch streamer QTCinderella: Twitch streamer QTCinderella breaks speedrun records with cookies, causing chaos in the community

This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.