| Zeldathon | |
| Genre: | Video game charity marathons |
| Location: | United States |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Last: | August 13 - 20, 2024 |
| Next: | TBD |
| Participants: | 100+ |
| Founder Name: | Matthew "MC" Moffit |
| Organizer: | Kinstone, LLC |
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.[1] [2]
As of 2024, more than 100 people from across the world have 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.[3]
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.[4] The documentary was premiered at the 25th marathon, Zeldathon Forces.
Zeldathon was first organized in late 2009 between 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.
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.[5]
There have been 30 mainline marathons to date.[6]
| Title | Start Date | End Date | Charity | Total Raised | Duration | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zeldathon for Charity | December 27, 2009 | December 30, 2009 | $301 | 72 Hours | |||
| 2 | Zeldathon for the American Cancer Society | June 19, 2010 | June 22, 2010 | $3,322 | 72 Hours | a.k.a. Zeldathon ACS | ||
| 3 | Zeldathon for the American Diabetes Association | December 27, 2010 | January 1, 2011 | $4,001 | 120 Hours | a.k.a. Zeldathon ADA | ||
| 4 | Zeldathon Quest | June 22, 2011 | June 24, 2011 | RJ's College Fund | $2,672 | 48 Hours | Mini-Marathon[7] | |
| 5 | Zeldathon for the American Red Cross | July 19, 2011 | July 23, 2011 | $13,280 | 96 Hours | a.k.a. Zeldathon ARC | ||
| 6 | Zeldathon Child's Play | December 29, 2011 | January 5, 2012 | Child's Play | $15,473 | 170 Hours | [8] [9] | |
| 7 | Ultimate Zeldathon | July 7, 2012 | July 12, 2012 | Child's Play | $27,176 | 120 Hours | ||
| 8 | Zeldathon Water | December 27, 2012 | January 1, 2013 | $45,273 | 120 Hours | [10] | ||
| 9 | Zeldathon Lives | July 5, 2013 | July 10, 2013 | National Foundation for Transplants | $53,039 | 120 Hours | [11] | |
| 10 | Zeldathon: Headstone for a Hero | October 4, 2013 | October 6, 2013 | Zachary's Headstone | $10,202 | 48 Hours | Mini-Marathon | |
| 11 | Zeldathon St. Jude | December 27, 2013 | January 1, 2014 | $54,965 | 120 Hours | |||
| 12 | Zeldathon Adventure | July 10, 2014 | July 17, 2014 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $97,251 | 156 Hours | [12] [13] [14] [15] | |
| 13 | Zeldathon Relief | December 27, 2014 | January 2, 2015 | $106,100 | 141 Hours | [16] [17] | ||
| 14 | Zeldathon Deluxe | June 19, 2015 | June 25, 2015 | charity: water | $196,097 | 140 Hours | [18] | |
| 15 | Zeldathon Hope | December 27, 2015 | January 2, 2016 | Help Hope Live | $251,554 | 147 Hours | [19] [20] | |
| 16 | Zeldathon Recovery | June 17, 2016 | June 23, 2016 | Direct Relief | $230,077 | 148 Hours | [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] | |
| 17 | Zeldathon Classic | October 14, 2016 | October 17, 2016 | Child's Play | $27,546 | 72 Hours | Mini-Marathon | |
| 18 | Zeldathon Cures | December 27, 2016 | January 2, 2017 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $376,157 | 143 Hours | [26] | |
| 19 | Zeldathon Wild | June 5, 2017 | June 11, 2017 | $169,982 | 147 Hours | [27] [28] [29] [30] | ||
| 20 | Anything Other Than Zeldathon | September 29, 2017 | October 2, 2017 | Help Hope Live | $26,803 | 75 Hours | Mini-Marathon - Did not play Zelda titles [31] [32] | |
| 21 | Zeldathon Mission | December 27, 2017 | January 2, 2018 | Direct Relief | $224,665 | 149 Hours | [33] | |
| 22 | Zeldathon Champions | June 15, 2018 | June 21, 2018 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $160,013 | 144 Hours | ||
| 23 | Zeldathon Response | December 27, 2018 | January 2, 2019 | Direct Relief | $165,000 | 145 Hours | ||
| 24 | Zeldathon Heals | June 13, 2019 | June 20, 2019 | Help Hope Live | $170,049 | 164 Hours | ||
| 25 | Zeldathon Forces | December 27, 2019 | January 3, 2020 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $173,700 | 153 Hours | 10 year anniversary | |
| 26 | Zeldathon Ascent | December 27, 2021 | January 2, 2022 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $176,843 | 147 Hours | ||
| 27 | Zeldathon Daybreak | August 2, 2022 | August 8, 2022 | Direct Relief | $125,800 | 145 Hours | ||
| 28 | Zeldathon Echoes | July 6, 2023 | July 12, 2023 | charity: water | $137,400 | 151 Hours | [34] | |
| 29 | Zeldathon Dimensions | December 27, 2023 | January 2, 2024 | $112,445 | 149 Hours | |||
| 30 | Zeldathon 1986 | August 13th, 2024 | August 20th, 2024 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $102,361+ | 154 Hours | [35] | |
In addition to their primary marathons, in 2019 the Zeldathon Team announced Piece of Heart, a convention-based charity event featuring Zeldathon participants.[36]
| Title | Start Date | End Date | Venue | Charity | Total Raised | Duration | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piece of Heart | May 24, 2019 | May 26, 2019 | MomoCon 2019 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $16,051 | 26 Hours | ||
| 2 | Piece of Heart | May 26, 2022 | May 29, 2022 | MomoCon 2022 | St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | $20,122 | 42 Hours | ||
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.[37]
In the same March 2020 announcement as the delay of Parallel Worlds, it was 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.[38] 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,[39] with a new starting date of August 7 announced in July.[40]
| Title | Start Date | End Date | Charity | Total Raised | Duration | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Side Quest | August 7, 2020 | August 12, 2020 | Direct Relief | $72,127 | 127 Hours | Online-only Event | |
| 2 | Take to the Seas! | December 26, 2020 | January 2, 2021 | charity: water | $87,887 | 172 Hours | Online-only Event | |
| 3 | A Fantastic Journey! | June 11, 2021 | June 18, 2021 | Direct Relief | $78,250 | 157 Hours | Online-only Event | |
| 4 | Banana Slamma! | September 17, 2021 | September 19, 2021 | $8,045 | 48 Hours | Online-only Event | ||
| 5 | Dampe's Twilight Tour![41] | October 28, 2022 | October 31, 2022 | $12,600 | 42 Hours | Online-only Event | ||
| 6 | Waluigi's Arcade Heist![42] | October 27, 2023 | October 30, 2023 | Starlight Children's Foundation | $8,300 | 43 Hours | Online-only Event | |