"Awesome Games Done Quick Online" kicks off on Sunday, January 8, kicking off a week-long celebration of high-speed gaming, with some of the world's best speedrunners from the past and present showing off their skills in a variety of games.

The AGDQ event kicks off with a pre-show beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET, with the PC version of "Crash Bandicoot" at 2:14 p.m. ET. An hour later, the New Game+ for "Mirror's Edge" will begin.

This is the Catalyst run for the 2017 Summer Games Done Quick; according to speedrun.com, the current record is a much faster 49:18.

Other interesting speedruns scheduled during the event include Vampire's Any% Nosferatu run: "Nosferatu" in "The Masquerade - Bloodlines", "All-Quest" in "Fallout 3", " Any%" in "Frogun," "All-Trophies" in "Goat Simulator," and "Any%" co-op in "Dead Space 3."

But the real hook for me (though not the PC game) is the Any% run of Steven Seagal Is: The Final Option, a mid-90s SNES beat-em-up that was never actually released. However, according to SNES Central (opens in new tab), a playable beta version eventually appeared, and according to the AGDQ 2023 Online submission page, it is a "fully functioning game."

"Just like in real life, Steven Seagal has 255 lives and can respawn in nearby areas," the description accurately states." The run consists of out-of-bounds to clear the stage and death warps on some jumps."

To prove that this is not a speedrun, but one that actually exists, here is some prototype gameplay of Seagal beating up scientists and maintenance workers:

Alongside a full week of speedruns, Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online is in the spotlight for another reason: Games Done Quick's founder and managing director Mike Uyama stepped down earlier this week (opens in new tab) and announced that he will be "resting" after the show Uyama founded the Games Done Quick series in 2010 and has led the series since it was broadcast from the basement of his mother's home. Since then, GDQ has raised more than $41 million for charity, and 100% of the funds raised during Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online will be donated to the Prevent Cancer Foundation (opens in new tab).

The final game of Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online will be the NES version of Super Mario Bros. 3 Any% Warpless Battle, followed by the conclusion of all events just after midnight (again Eastern Time) on January 15. The full schedule can be found at gamesdonequick.com (opens in a new tab).