AGDQ 2018 speedrunning marathon has begun: What it is and where to watch
Earlier today, Awesome Games Done Quick 2018 kicked off, continuing an annual tradition that first started way back in 2010. The marathon will last all week long, raising money for charity the entire time. While those who are already fans of speedrunning likely know what AGDQ is, those who are unfamiliar can consider this a primer on the event, which has skyrocketed in popularity over the past couple of years.
What is Awesome Games Done Quick?
Awesome Games Done Quick is an annual speedrunning marathon that takes place in January of each year. For the uninitiated, speedrunning is attempting to beat a game as quickly as possible while sometimes adhering to certain rules (such as not using glitches or completing all of the content in a game). AGDQ has a summer counterpart called Summer Games Done Quick, and though AGDQ is generally the larger of the two, SGDQ has been catching up in terms of viewership in recent years.
READ MORE: A Beginner's Guide to Speedrunning
Over the course of the next week, players attending the marathon will perform hundreds of runs. The marathon will run 24/7 from today until the early morning hours of next Sunday, January 14. If you'd like to see if one of your favorite games is being run during the marathon, you can check out this handy schedule, which lists the games, their runners, and their (approximate) start times.
What is AGDQ raising money for?
Each year, Awesome Games Done Quick raises money for The Prevent Cancer foundation, while SGDQ in the summer raises money for Doctors Without Borders. AGDQ has been incredibly effective in raising money for charity, last year bringing in a grand total of $2,222,791. This was the first time in AGDQ history that a marathon raised over $2 million, and more than $1 million of that was brought in over the course of a single day.
It goes without saying that expectations are high for 2018. This year's marathon may not climb to same heights as AGDQ 2017, but nevertheless, we can expect it to raise significant amounts of money. Things are off to a good start too, with the marathon already raising $30,000 in the short time it's been live.
Sounds great! Where can I watch?
You can watch Awesome Games Done Quick over on Twitch all week long. AGDQ will almost certainly be the most popular stream on Twitch throughout the entire week, and at the time of this writing, there are just over 150,000 people watching. To say that AGDQ has achieved truly awesome levels of reach and exposure would still be understating it a bit.
Just as well, you can head over to AGDQ's donation page to send a few dollars their way. Keep in mind that you can put the money you donate toward special incentives, whether those are bonus runs, skill exhibitions, or special character names. Which speedruns are you looking forward to this week? Head down to the comments section and let us know!