Awesome Games Done Quick, because it has most years, has raised a completely boggling sum of money for charity—about $2.5 million, all instructed, in help of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It’s all the time beautiful seeing video games getting used as an unrepentant drive for good, a stable supply of guffaws and, on this case, each.
A consumer by the title of Dr. Mecha Kitten donated $43,690—greater than my yearly wage—to Awesome Games Done Quick. This is, in response to the location’s personal donation tracker, essentially the most money {that a} single individual has given to the trigger in a single go—the Humble Bundle nonetheless takes the cake for highest general donation at $51,578, however on condition that’s, you realize, an organization? I’m keen to chop Mecha Kitten some slack.
The donation, which you’ll be able to see clipped right here, arrived throughout a race between speedrunners Vert and Storster to beat Super Mario World by way of a “96 exit run”, the place each gamers wanted to search out all 96 exits to each completely different stage (the sport has a number of secret exit doorways).
The better part? Aside from a tremendously beneficiant lump sum, Dr. Mecha Kitten’s donation can also be a shitpost. See, throughout Mario speedruns on the occasion, the viewers started to yell each time boos confirmed up on-screen as a result of, y’know, ghosts are scary. This form of charity-induced mania is not in any respect unusual for occasions like GDQ, by the best way—it is a part of what makes them so particular. Like a canine enjoying baseball, or speedrunning Crazy Taxi with a dwell band.
As talked about within the donation itself, the numbers 43690 are 0xAAAA in hexadecimal code—as in, “aaaa!” just like the noise you may make while you stub your toe, or see a ghost.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 has now completed, because it ran from January 5 to January 12, however you may check out all of the highlights over on the occasion’s Twitch channel. Meanwhile, Summer Games Done Quick is slated to kick off July 6 this 12 months, and I’m positive the unstoppable generosity of the gaming public—and their potential to meme with stated generosity—goes to carry sturdy.
