Video Game Speedrunning Event Raises $1.2 Million for Cancer Research

Awesome Games Done Quick, a video game speedrunning event that raises money for charity, brought in $1.2 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, organizers have announced.

The event began January 3 and wrapped up Sunday, January 10. The final donation tally may grow further still, as donations are still being accepted here on the Awesome Games Done Quick website.

There were a number of mind-blowing world record runs performed throughout the course of the event, one of which (below) was a "two players one controller" speedrun of Super Metroid. You can watch replays of some other epic speedruns at the Awesome Games Done Quick YouTube channel.

Event organizers have also announced that this year's Summer Games Done Quick 2016 will take place July 3-9 in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Speedrunning is the process of playing through a game as quickly as possible. They are particularly fun and sometimes bewildering to watch because they require expert skill, lots of planning, and often the use of tricks.

Before this, the most recent event--Summer Games Done Quick in summer 2015--raised $1.2 million for Doctors Without Borders.