What Games Done Quick does

Games Done Quick (GDQ) is a privately held charitable organization founded in 2010 that produces charity video game marathons featuring high-level speedrunners performing live gameplay to raise funds for designated nonprofit beneficiaries. The organization operates its flagship biannual events — Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) in January benefiting the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) in summer benefiting Doctors Without Borders — and has cumulatively raised over $50 million for charity across 15+ years, making it the largest single fundraising event globally for both of those anchor charities. Beyond the flagship marathons, GDQ operates a portfolio of identity- and community-focused sub-brands: Frame Fatales (women and femmes in speedrunning), Black in a Flash (Black speedrunners), GDQ Hotfix (daily speedrun programming), and Games Done Queer (LGBTQ+ focused), each with year-round Discord activity and dedicated events benefiting partners such as Malala Fund, Race Forward, and the National Women's Law Center.

GDQ's underlying technology is a custom-built Django/Python donation tracker that manages donations, runs, bids, milestones, and prizes across events, complemented by a run submission portal, plus standard infrastructure (Twitch for livestreaming, CloudFlare CDN/security, Stripe and PayPal for payments, Brevo for email). The organization's revenue model is hybrid and nonprofit-aligned: donations during livestreams are passed through to charity partners, while operational revenue derives from in-person event registration ($150 early / $175 standard for SGDQ 2026), merchandise (e.g., attendee shirts via The Yetee), and ancillary channels. GDQ distributes content globally through Twitch and self-serve web access, with in-person attendance available at venues such as Hilton Minneapolis and an expanding footprint including gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany.

GDQ is governed as a privately held LLC (legally domiciled in Virginia per its privacy policy) under founder and event director Mike Uyama, who has raised over $41 million for charity personally over a decade, alongside a small leadership team including directors of operations and marketing/business development. The organization is not venture-backed, PE-owned, or publicly traded; it operates with 11-50 employees and pursues organic, community-led growth across runner, viewer, and donor segments.

Name

Games Done Quick

Legal name

Games Done Quick LLC

Website

https://gamesdonequick.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Games Done Quick is a privately held charitable organization founded in 2010 that produces speedrunning video game marathons, raising over $50 million cumulatively for charity partners including Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation across flagship events and community-focused sub-brands like Frame Fatales and Black in a Flash.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Gaming Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310), Other Spectator Sports (711219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Fundraisers & Charity Events (Gala/Walks excluded) (MPAGAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK), Virtual & Hybrid Participation Events (App-Based, Remote/Hybrid Races) (MPAKAIAH)

Keywords

• Charity speedrun marathons
• Video game fundraising
• Gaming charity events
• Speedrunning community events
• Charity livestream events

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The primary revenue stream consists of viewer donations during livestreamed speedrunning events. These donations are passed through to designated charity partners including Doctors Without Borders, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Malala Fund, Race Forward, and National Women's Law Center.
2. Event Registration: GDQ charges registration fees for in-person event attendance. Early registration is priced at $150 USD with standard registration at $175 USD. This covers attendance at the physical event.
3. Newsletter Subscription: Email newsletter distribution using Brevo platform for communicating event updates, run submissions, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming events to subscribers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Games Done Quick organizes charity video game marathons featuring high-level speedrunners performing live gameplay to raise money for designated charitable causes. The organization livestreams these marathons globally on Twitch and hosts in-person events at hotel venues, with viewer donations passed through to charity partners such as Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation. GDQ also operates supporting community programs (Frame Fatales, Black in a Flash, GDQ Hotfix, Games Done Queer) and proprietary platforms for donation tracking and run submissions.

Product overview

Games Done Quick is a series of charity video game marathons featuring high-level speedrun gameplay for fundraising. The core offerings include the flagship Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) events, complemented by community-focused sub-brands: Frame Fatales for women and femmes in speedrunning, Black in a Flash for Black speedrunners, GDQ Hotfix for daily community content, and Games Done Queer for pride celebrations. The organization also operates supporting platforms including the GDQ Donation Tracker for event management and the GDQ Submissions portal for run applications. All events raise funds for charitable causes including Doctors Without Borders, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and organizations like Malala Fund, Race Forward, and the National Women's Law Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Frame Fatales: A community of women and femmes who are interested in speedrunning, charity events, and gaming. Cis, trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming individuals are all welcome to join. The community Discord has activities year-round, including Game of the Month and randomizer events.
• GDQ Hotfix
• Black in a Flash
• Games Done Queer

Products and services

• Games Done Quick (GDQ) Charity Marathon Series The flagship charity video game marathon series featuring high-level speedrun gameplay by runners raising money for charitable causes. Includes Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) benefiting the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) benefiting Doctors Without Borders. Events are livestreamed globally on Twitch.
• Frame Fatales A community and event sub-brand for women and femmes in speedrunning, featuring year-round Discord activities including Game of the Month and randomizer events, plus dedicated charity marathon events like Frost Fatales and Flame Fatales.
• Black in a Flash A community and event sub-brand for Black speedrunners of all levels to convene, grow, work together, and uplift each other while raising money for charity. Hosts recurring events including Back to Black and Juneteenth celebrations on the GDQ channel.
• GDQ Hotfix A program promoting various speedrunning communities by offering GDQ's channel and resources, featuring daily speedrun shows on weekdays (7pm Eastern) and weekends (1pm Eastern) with content from multiple speedrunning communities.
• Games Done Queer A pride-focused speedrunning event celebrating LGBTQ+ gaming and community, featuring runs of various games to raise money for charity.
• GDQ Donation Tracker Custom-built internal platform for tracking donations, runs, bids, milestones, and prizes across all GDQ events. Built on Django with Python, providing transparent donation tracking and event management.
• GDQ Submissions Platform for speedrunners to submit runs for GDQ events, featuring event selection, availability scheduling, and runner information management.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $50 million raised for charity since inception
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Malala FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 September 2026Charity beneficiary for Flame Fatales 2026 event (September 13-19, 2026). Malala Fund supports girls' education initiatives globally.
• Race ForwardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Charity beneficiary for Back to Black 2026 event. Race Forward works across communities most affected by systemic racism to build collective power for racial equity and presents the biennial Facing Race Conference.
• National Women's Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Charity beneficiary for Frost Fatales 2026 event, raising $147,647. The organization advocates for women's rights through legal strategies.
• Doctors Without BordersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary charity partner for Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) events. GDQ is the largest fundraising event globally for Doctors Without Borders. Donations from SGDQ events support the organization's humanitarian medical missions worldwide.
• Prevent Cancer FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary charity partner for Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) events. GDQ is the largest fundraising event globally for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Donations support cancer prevention research and global projects in Haiti and Kenya.
• Hilton HotelsminorOthers
• gamescomcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGDQ is going overseas to gamescom 2026 in Cologne, Germany, featuring three days of speedrunning from August 28-30. This represents GDQ's expansion into international event partnerships.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Twitch: Dominant livestreaming platform and GDQ's primary distribution channel. Comparable not as a charity but as the broader incumbent that hosts GDQ events and processes donations — Twitch's charity infrastructure and audience are foundational to GDQ's reach.
• Humble Bundle: Pay-what-you-want game bundle platform that historically raised tens of millions for charity. Comparable as an established gaming charity fundraising brand, though operating via a different distribution model (bundles vs. livestream events).

Direct peers

• Take This: Nonprofit dedicated to mental health awareness and support within the gaming community. Comparable as a gaming-focused nonprofit partnering with industry events (e.g., PAX) for fundraising and outreach.
• Stack Up: US-based veterans charity using gaming and streaming as its core fundraising and community-building mechanism. Comparable as a gaming-focused nonprofit leveraging livestreaming to drive charitable outcomes.
• Extra Life: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals' gaming fundraising program, organizing 24-hour charity gaming marathons globally. Directly comparable as a charity gaming marathon model with online donation solicitation and community-driven event execution.
• SpecialEffect: UK-based charity helping people with physical disabilities enjoy video games through adapted controllers and support. Comparable as a gaming-focused nonprofit, though geographically concentrated in the UK.
• AbleGamers Foundation: Charitable organization improving accessibility in video games for people with disabilities. Comparable as a nonprofit operating within the gaming community with both advocacy and fundraising mandates.
• Desert Bus for Hope: Annual Canadian charity livestream marathon running the infamously tedious Desert Bus minigame for days on end to raise money for charity. Closely comparable event format (multi-day charity livestream) and small-team, volunteer-driven operating model.
• Jingle Jam: Yogscast-organized annual charity livestream event raising millions for multiple charities during December. Comparable as a multi-day livestream charity marathon pairing gaming/entertainment content with donation-based fundraising.

Others

• PAX (Penny Arcade Expo): Major gaming convention series (PAX West, East, etc.) where GDQ runs speedrun stages. Comparable as an event partner/venue ecosystem rather than a competitor, but provides the convention-based community touchpoint GDQ leverages beyond its own events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/gamesdonequick
• Xx.com/gamesdonequick
• Facebookfacebook.com/GamesDoneQuick
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/games-done-quick

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Games Done Quick