Writer and speedrunner Eric Koziel identifies two important precursors to Games Done Quick: the "Desert Bus for Hope" donation drive organized by
LoadingReadyRun in November 2007, and a series of charity speedrun marathons held by
TheSpeedGamers starting in March 2008. Users of the site Speed Demos Archive decided to hold a charity marathon in January 2010, during
MAGFest 8. It was themed around 8-bit and 16-bit video games and thus dubbed "Classic Games Done Quick" (after the 1990s speedrunning project
Quake Done Quick). Internet connectivity problems at the MAGFest hotel forced SDA administrator Mike Uyama to relocate the event to his mother's residence, but it raised over $10,000 for
CARE. Following that initial success, the first Awesome Games Done Quick marathon was held in January 2011, expanding from two days to five days, incorporating newer games such as
Halo and
Portal, and raising more than $50,000 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The first Summer Games Done Quick was held in August 2011, raising $20,000 for the Organization for Autism Research. Since then, both Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick have recurred annually, soon raising significantly larger amounts than these early marathons. A one-off additional marathon was held in March 2011 to support victims of the
earthquake and tsunami in Japan; Japan Relief Done Quick raised over $25,000. In addition, a one-off promotional event was held on March 20, 2015, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the
God of War franchise. Over the course of five hours, God of War Done Quick ended up raising $3,500 for
The AbleGamers Foundation. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer 2020 marathon, both 2021 marathons, and the Winter 2022 marathon were held as
virtual events. In-person attendance returned for SGDQ 2022 under strict
social distancing,
masking, and
vaccine mandate protocol, with all attendees required to have a full series of
COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose, while also continuing to intersperse remote runners alongside those present on-stage. The Winter AGDQ 2023 event was intended to be an in-person event held in Orlando, Florida, but was moved to a virtual event after controversies due to the
Florida state government's stances on LGBT rights and COVID-19 (the state strictly prohibits vaccine mandates). Breaking the hotel contract carried significant financial consequences for the organization; GDQ Black In A Flash and events coordinator Vanessa "PleasantlyTwstd" B described it as "a make-or-break deal" that "set back any ambitious expansion because the budget was tight for the next couple of years," while Uyama noted that low attendance driven by Florida's legislation could have caused even greater financial losses had they proceeded, and GDQ director of operations Matt Merkle stated that the organization "was not going to risk attendee lives over money." In February 2023, it was announced he had postponed his departure to cover for his successor's illness. Over the course of its early years, GDQ faced criticism for permitting casual bigotry among runners and commentators, and its
Twitch chat was largely unmoderated. Founder Mike Uyama later acknowledged his own limited awareness during this period, stating: "I didn't really have any knowledge of LGBTQ+ and queer spaces and proper representation... I remember it wasn't really until 2012 or 2013 that I even learned properly what a transgender person was." From 2016 through 2018, GDQ made a more concerted effort to address these issues. Over time, a cultural tradition has emerged at GDQ events: donors, whose messages are read aloud during speedruns, began regularly signing off with the phrase "
trans rights." This practice became so established that in-person audiences have come to respond by shouting "trans rights" back in unison, regardless of the time of day during the marathon.
Superman 64 and ''
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3''. == List of marathons ==