It’s almost time for the 2023 edition of the week-long Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) speedrunning marathon. This year’s event takes place between January 8th and January 15th. As ever, AGDQ will showcase a bunch of skilled players racing to finish games as quickly as they can. Runners will go head-to-head in some games and we might see world records being broken too.
For the third year in a row, AGDQ will take place entirely online. The event was scheduled to take place in Florida with a live audience, but organizers decided against that plan due to the state’s “continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination policies) and an increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals.” They said that “we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time,” but relocating to a “safer location” wasn’t financially feasible. That means speedrunners won’t have an in-person crowd to cheer them on.
As always, the schedule is full of some intriguing runs. Stray, Cult of the Lamb and Neon White (a game that’s all about speedrunning) are among the recent titles making their first appearances at AGDQ. A bunch of fan-favorite games are in the mix too, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Cuphead and Portal.
I’m looking forward to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge run, as well as watching a crew of six players cleaning a bunch of vehicles in PowerWash Simulator as quickly as possible. I’m also curious about a run for a game called I’m going to die if I don’t eat sushi!, which I simply had to buy after seeing it on the schedule. Unless it’s added as a bonus game, though, there’s no Elden Ring this time around.
AGDQ is once again raising funds for Prevent Cancer Foundation. The 2022 edition brought in a record $3.4 million for that cause. AGDQ and its sibling event, Summer Games Done Quick, have raised more than $41 million for charity since 2010.
The latest marathon will commence at noon ET on Sunday with an any-percent run of Splatoon 3 (meaning the player can take advantage of glitches). You’ll be able to watch the entire event on Twitch via the Games Done Quick channel. The stream is embedded below too. If you miss a run or can’t watch AGDQ live, you’ll be able to catch up on the GDQ YouTube channel.