Awesome Games Done Quick 2018 Gets Underway This Weekend

Fresh off the holiday season, speedrunners and fans of watching them blaze through numerous videogames will receive one more gift as they descend upon the 2018 edition of Awesome Games Done Quick this weekend. The event, which brings together the speedrunning community to raise money for charity, will emanate from the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel in Herndon, Va. this Sunday, Jan. 7 and will continue through the week until Jan. 14.

The event, affectionately abbreviated to AGDQ 2018, is hosted by Games Done Quick, an organization that has held speedrunning events over the past seven years in order to raise money for charities such as Doctors Without Borders, Organization for Autism Research and CARE. AGDQ 2018 will benefit the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and early detection of cancer. To date, Games Done Quick has raised more than $6.6 million for Prevent Cancer Foundation and over $12 million overall through donations and merchandise sales.

Last year’s event saw speedrunners blitz through games ranging from classics such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels to less heralded titles such as Wayne’s World and Batman Forever, so there is something for fans of any ilk. AGDQ 2017 drew four million viewers on Twitch and a live audience of over 1400 people during the week-long marathon.

AGDQ 2018 gets underway with the pre-show at 11:30 a.m. EST and will marathon through the week, featuring more than 150 speedrunners and their respective games. All coverage of the event can be viewed online here and donations can be made via GamesDoneQuick.com.

Fans can view the schedule of events here. Personally, we’re looking forward to those sweet Metal Gear Solid runs. For fans that can’t wait for more runs, Games Done Quick is running a VOD stream of AGDQ 2017 leading up to this year’s event over on Twitch.