As another year rolls around, it is once again time for Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ). Probably one of the first major gaming events of the year, AGDQ takes place over the course of a week, and features streamers from all over the world raising money for charity. Participants do so by speedrunning specific titles, in a bid to break records, or to just highlight how fun a certain game is to speedrun.
AGDQ is one of two events throughout the year, as Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) also takes place at the midpoint of the year. Both events have raised money for a number of charities throughout the years including The Prevent Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Borders. AGDQ 2021 raised over $3.1 million for The Prevent Cancer Foundation last year. The event raises more money each year, and the first event raised just over $700,000 back in 2014.
Viewers are also able to win prizes by donating throughout the week as well. There are also bonus incentives for special speed runs. These are usually runs that might be slightly more difficult, or feature a unique stipulation. A bonus run in previous years saw someone play Celeste, a speedy indie platformer, using a Dance Dance Revolution dance mat.
So, where can you watch AGDQ 2021?
The good news is, you can start watching AGDQ 2021 right now. The event officially started this past Sunday (January 9th) and will run for one week until the following Sunday (January 16th). The stream runs 24/7, with runners getting involved through the night as well. We are currently in the third day of the event, and just over $500,000 has been raised so far. If you want to get involved, you can view the steam here, or by watching the window below.
We’ve already had some fantastic runs so far. We’ve seen a Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania story mode run, a 11 minute run of Axiom Verge 2 filled with glitches and a speedrun of Final Fantasy XII. Those are only a few of the highlights so far though, as there have been loads of fantastic runs so far. What makes the event so interesting is the key insights provided by speedrunners in the game’s community.
We’re only part way through the week, so there’s still plenty of speed runs to watch. I’d recommend checking out the Returnal speed run tomorrow (January 12th), a blindfolded three-hour run of Sekiro on Saturday and a one-hour run of Earthbound which is also on Saturday. You can check out the full schedule for the show by clicking here.
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[Featured Image Credit: Games Done Quick]