Cover Image for Luigi was present everywhere during AGDQ 2025.
Wed Jan 15 2025

Luigi was present everywhere during AGDQ 2025.

AGDQ viewers really enjoyed Luigi this year.

During the Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 event, although only a few Super Mario games were showcased, the character Luigi was present on numerous occasions, which is quite revealing. In the gaming community, Luigi, Mario's brother, is loved for his fun nature and often appears in memes suggesting that his friendly demeanor hides a darker side. However, following recent events surrounding Luigi Mangione, accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, public appreciation for Luigi has taken on a new nuance.

This new meaning became evident during AGDQ 2025, where the name Luigi emerged repeatedly. During this charity speedrunning marathon, viewers had the opportunity to influence certain actions during the gameplay or choose character names through their donations. For example, in the Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee run, donors chose the name Luigi for the trainer. Throughout the marathon, viewers proposed Luigi in nearly all name-related auctions, and on several occasions he managed to win.

Luigi was chosen as a character name in titles like Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim. He was also used as the name of the warrior in Gauntlet IV and as the file name in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Additionally, of the four named characters in Final Fantasy Legend 2, "Lugi" was three of them, since the game only allows four-letter names. In total, all Luigi-related auctions, both winning and losing, raised over $18,000.

Games Done Quick is known for its inclusive approach and social awareness, having canceled a live event in Florida in 2023 due to the "Don’t Say Gay" law and the state’s lax COVID-19 policies. Thus, while it is complicated to determine whether the prevalence of Luigi is simply due to meme culture among gamers or if it represents a type of statement supporting Luigi Mangione's actions, it is likely that both reasons play an important role in this phenomenon.