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Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 Online raises record-breaking $3.41 million

This year's Awesome Games Done Quick didn't let a little thing like being online-only stop them from setting a new all-time GDQ fundraising record.

Ozzie Mejia

January 15, 2022 11:06 PM

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While many looked forward to Awesome Games Done Quick 2022, few expected it to be a record-breaking event. Games Done Quick didn't necessarily go in with that expectation, either. Their mission was to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Founation. However, at the conclusion of the marathon week, this year's AGDQ has broken the all-time fundraising record for a Games Done Quick event. AGDQ 2022 has ended with a total of $3,418,087 raised for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. This surpasses the previous record for all Games Done Quick events, which was set two years ago at Awesome Games Done Quick 2020. It's even more remarkable considering that this was not a live, in-person event.

It took some strategic stalling for the Games Done Quick crew to reach this total. There was a bonus incentive for a second Deltarune run offered for passing the $3 million milestone, but the goal had come up just short upon the conclusion of the first exhibition. Fortunately, the hosts were able to run with an extended weekly recap to give viewers time to drum up that extra money. Following the second Deltarune run, all that was left was the week's finale, which was the classic Metal Gear Solid. Within the last five minutes of the run, the runners and the GDQ team were able to pass the previous record of $3,164,003.

Awesome Games Done Quick had been on a record pace throughout the week. On the strength of games like Death's Door, Super Mario Galaxy, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, and Psychonauts 2, this week's marathon hit the $1 million milestone faster than any GDQ event in its 12 year history. The week's runners hit $2 million on Saturday morning, heading into a packed final day, which featured runs of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Tetris: The Grand Master, and a blindfolded run of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The final AGDQ's donation total also includes all proceeds from Twitch Bits donated throughout the week, GDQ Twitch channel subscriptions, and purchases from AGDQ partners, such as The Yetee and Fangamer.

Games Done Quick had hoped to return to in-person running, but was cautious about taking such a step throughout the latter half of 2021. The decision was ultimately made to return to an online-only format, which proved pragmatic, given the ongoing spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

The omicron variant's continued spread, as well as the uncertain future of the pandemic means that Games Done Quick remains in a holding pattern, as far as live events go. Kasumi "Sumichu" Yogi noted at the conclusion of the broadcast that the team cannot commit to on-site events at the moment, due to the current state of the world. More information about Summer Games Done Quick is expected later this year. In the meantime, Games Done Quick continues to add content on a regular basis through GDQ Hotfix and side events like Frame Fatales. In fact, Frost Fatales already has its schedule posted and is set to run from February 27 through March 5. For more, you can visit Games Done Quick on YouTube and the Games Done Quick website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?