Zeldathon


Zeldathon is an annual video game charity marathon, broadcast live on Twitch. Traditionally, every major video game in The Legend of Zelda series is completed back-to-back throughout the event, over the course of several days. Viewers are encouraged to donate directly to a selected charity in order to reach various goals and motivate the attendees to perform various challenges, such as playing the game upside down, or dressing up as a recurring video game character.
As of 2024, more than 100 people from across the world had participated in the event, with the most recent instances featuring over 70 attendees each. Over the course of 30 marathons, the team has raised more than $3 million for various charitable causes.
At the conclusion of the 22nd marathon, a documentary on the event's history, Money Making Game, was announced with a projected release of December 2019 to celebrate Zeldathon's 10th anniversary. The documentary was premiered at the 25th marathon, Zeldathon Forces. On August 28, 2024, Matthew "MC" Moffit announced he was stepping down as director of Zeldathon.
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Founding

Zeldathon was first organized in late 2009 by Matthew "MC" Moffit and Zak Ondish, having taken inspiration from other charity gaming marathons such as TheSpeedGamers.
Following the first marathon, motivation was low to continue to create another event. However, another attendee of the initial event wanted to do a second as a high school senior project. Moffit agreed to help, and they planned and executed a second summer event. Following this, the marathon continued to return twice annually, in the summer and winter, with occasional mini-marathons being held as needed.

Honors

In September 2016, the Zeldathon Team was awarded the "Help Award" by Help Hope Live, for excellence in fund-raising following their fifteenth marathon, Zeldathon Hope. The award was given as a direct result of their effort in raising more than $250,000 for Help Hope Live in the 150-hour event.

List of marathons

There have been 32 mainline marathons to date.
#TitleStart dateEnd dateCharityTotal raisedDurationNotes
1Zeldathon for CharityDecember 27, 2009December 30, 2009Child's Play$30172 hours
2Zeldathon for the American Cancer SocietyJune 19, 2010June 22, 2010American Cancer Society$3,32272 hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ACS
3Zeldathon for the American Diabetes AssociationDecember 27, 2010January 1, 2011American Diabetes Association$4,001120 hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ADA
4Zeldathon QuestJune 22, 2011June 24, 2011RJ's College Fund$2,67248 hoursMini-marathon
5Zeldathon for the American Red CrossJuly 19, 2011July 23, 2011American Red Cross$13,28096 hoursa.k.a. Zeldathon ARC
6Zeldathon Child's PlayDecember 29, 2011January 5, 2012Child's Play$15,473170 hours
7Ultimate ZeldathonJuly 7, 2012July 12, 2012Child's Play$27,176120 hours
8Zeldathon WaterDecember 27, 2012January 1, 2013charity: water$45,874120 hours
9Zeldathon LivesJuly 5, 2013July 10, 2013National Foundation for Transplants$53,039120 hours
10Zeldathon: Headstone for a HeroOctober 4, 2013October 6, 2013Zachary's Headstone$10,20248 hoursMini-marathon
11Zeldathon St. JudeDecember 27, 2013January 1, 2014St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$54,965120 hours
12Zeldathon AdventureJuly 10, 2014July 17, 2014St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$97,251156 hours
13Zeldathon ReliefDecember 27, 2014January 2, 2015Direct Relief$106,100141 hours
14Zeldathon DeluxeJune 19, 2015June 25, 2015charity: water$196,097140 hours
15Zeldathon HopeDecember 27, 2015January 2, 2016Help Hope Live$251,554147 hours
16Zeldathon RecoveryJune 17, 2016June 23, 2016Direct Relief$230,077148 hours
17Zeldathon ClassicOctober 14, 2016October 17, 2016Child's Play$27,54672 hoursMini-marathon
18Zeldathon CuresDecember 27, 2016January 2, 2017St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$376,157143 hours
19Zeldathon WildJune 5, 2017June 11, 2017WILD Foundation$169,982147 hours
20Anything Other Than ZeldathonSeptember 29, 2017October 2, 2017Help Hope Live$26,80375 hoursMini-marathon - did not play Zelda titles
21Zeldathon MissionDecember 27, 2017January 2, 2018Direct Relief$224,665149 hours
22Zeldathon ChampionsJune 15, 2018June 21, 2018St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$160,013144 hours
23Zeldathon ResponseDecember 27, 2018January 2, 2019Direct Relief$165,000145 hours
24Zeldathon HealsJune 13, 2019June 20, 2019Help Hope Live$170,049164 hours
25Zeldathon ForcesDecember 27, 2019January 3, 2020St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$173,700153 hours10-year anniversary
26Zeldathon AscentDecember 27, 2021January 2, 2022St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$176,843147 hours
27Zeldathon DaybreakAugust 2, 2022August 8, 2022Direct Relief$125,800145 hours
28Zeldathon EchoesJuly 6, 2023July 12, 2023charity: water$137,400151 hours
29Zeldathon DimensionsDecember 27, 2023January 2, 2024Make-A-Wish Foundation$112,445149 hours
30Zeldathon 1986August 13, 2024August 20, 2024St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$105,822155 hours
31Zeldathon VoyageJune 9, 2025June 15, 2025charity: water$123,500134 hours

Piece of Heart

In addition to their primary marathons, in 2019 the Zeldathon Team announced Piece of Heart, a convention-based charity event featuring Zeldathon participants.
#TitleStart dateEnd dateVenueCharityTotal raisedDurationNotes
1Piece of HeartMay 24, 2019May 26, 2019MomoCon 2019St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$16,05126 hoursFinal duration excludes breaks between days.
2Piece of HeartMay 26, 2022May 29, 2022MomoCon 2022St. Jude Children's Research Hospital$20,12242 hoursFinal duration excludes breaks between days.

Side Quest

At the end of Zeldathon Forces, the Zeldathon Team announced Zeldathon Parallel Worlds, an event focusing on non-Zelda titles. The team has said that this is its own line of events, rather than part of the main list of Zeldathon marathons. While originally planned to begin on June 4, 2020, it was announced in March 2020 that the event would be delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
It was also revealed that an online-only event would be held in its place, scheduled to begin on June 5, in support of Direct Relief. The event was later given the title of Side Quest. On June 3, it was announced that Side Quest would be delayed in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the George Floyd protests, with a new starting date of August 7 announced in July.
#TitleStart dateEnd dateCharityTotal raisedDurationNotes
1Side QuestAugust 7, 2020August 12, 2020Direct Relief$72,127127 hoursOnline-only event
2Take to the Seas!December 26, 2020January 2, 2021charity: water$87,887172 hoursOnline-only event
3A Fantastic Journey!June 11, 2021June 18, 2021Direct Relief$78,250157 hoursOnline-only event
4Banana Slamma!September 17, 2021September 19, 2021Starlight Children's Foundation$8,04548 hoursOnline-only event
5Dampe's Twilight Tour!October 28, 2022October 31, 2022Gamers Outreach Foundation$12,60042 hoursOnline-only event, final duration excludes breaks between days
6Waluigi's Arcade Heist!October 27, 2023October 30, 2023Starlight Children's Foundation$8,30043 hoursOnline-only event, final duration excludes breaks between days
7Winter MasqueradeDecember 29, 2024January 2, 2025Starlight Children's Foundation$29,05670 hoursFinal duration excludes breaks between days.