Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) is a charity-focused 'speedrunning' event where gamers can register to play a game on-stream to receive donations for charity. Speedrunning is the process of clearing a video game as quickly as possible. This is a stream-worthy feat because, for a regular gamer, playing a 40-hour game as quickly as possible could result in a time as little as 15 hours. The speedrunners at AGDQ complete most games in under one hour.
Users can donate various amounts of money to AGDQ to receive different benefits. Very small donations are simply received, while more middle-ground donations result in the donator being able to have a message read by a text-to-speech (TTS) service to the whole stream. On top of this, AGDQ often receives large-scale donations of thousands of dollars which result in different events and perks each year.
In AGDQ 2022, the event raised $3.4 million, which is a record-setting number for the event and a landmark for video game-based charity events.
Charity-Focused Gaming Events
'Awesome Games Done Quick' Has Raised $3.4 Million for Charity
Trend Themes
1. Charity Speedrunning Events - There is an opportunity to expand charity speedrunning events to different game genres or to other non-gaming communities.
2. Social Media Fundraising Campaigns - There is an opportunity to use social media to promote fundraising campaigns and reach a wider audience.
3. Gamification of Charitable Giving - There is an opportunity to create gamified platforms for charitable donations to incentivize more giving and engagement from donors.
Industry Implications
1. Video Game Industry - Video game companies can sponsor or partner with charity speedrunning events to gain exposure and positively impact their brand image.
2. Nonprofit Industry - Nonprofits can use innovative fundraising ideas like AGDQ to incentivize more donations and attract a younger audience.
3. Social Media Industry - Social media platforms can create dedicated donation features and integrate with gamified charitable giving platforms to increase user engagement on their platform.