Speedrunning event AGDQ raises record-breaking $3.4 million for charity

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That's the largest total in the speedrunning event’s history

Kena: Bridge of Spirits review
(Image credit: Ember Lab)

Annual speedrunning event AGDQ has raised a record-breaking $3.4 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. 

According to GamesIndustry.biz, Awesome Games Done Quick raised the largest total in its history last week, reaching an incredible $3.4 million. AGDQ 2022 Online was also the fastest to reach the first one million in donations when compared to previous years. 

Kicking off on January 9 and running until January 16, AGDQ 2022 featured a number of games including Kena: Bridge of Spirits (which ended up setting a new speedrunning world record for the game of just 28 minutes and 35 seconds), Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Stardew Valley, and many, many more.  

The amount of money raised is incredible, especially when you find out that AGDQ 2022 managed to raise $700,000 more for the trust than last year's event. Highlights back then included speedruns of Mirror’s Edge, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Cuphead, and more. 

If you’re wondering how developers feel about their games being featured during the event, we spoke to the team behind Chicory: A Colorful Tale, who live tweeted their reactions during the game’s speedrun, resulting in a number of hilarious responses to speedrunner Punchy’s 33-minute playthrough. Not only did the developer entertain us during the event, but it also provided a Chicory-themed one-of-a-kind, hand-painted PS5 console for one lucky winner who donated $100 or more. 

Curious about what games could appear in AGDQ next year? Take a look at our list of new games 2022 to see what you have to look forward to this year. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.