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 2026, 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.
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 33 mainline marathons to date.
#TitleStart dateEnd dateCharityTotal raisedDurationNotes 1 Zeldathon for CharityDecember 27, 2009December 30, 2009 Child's Play $301 72 hours 2 Zeldathon for the American Cancer SocietyJune 19, 2010June 22, 2010 American Cancer Society $3,322 72 hours a.k.a. Zeldathon ACS 3 Zeldathon for the American Diabetes AssociationDecember 27, 2010January 1, 2011 American Diabetes Association $4,001 120 hours a.k.a. Zeldathon ADA 4 Zeldathon QuestJune 22, 2011June 24, 2011 RJ's College Fund $2,672 48 hours Mini-marathon 5 Zeldathon for the American Red CrossJuly 19, 2011July 23, 2011 American Red Cross $13,280 96 hours a.k.a. Zeldathon ARC 6 Zeldathon Child's PlayDecember 29, 2011January 5, 2012 Child's Play $15,473 170 hours 7 Ultimate ZeldathonJuly 7, 2012July 12, 2012 Child's Play $27,176 120 hours 8 Zeldathon WaterDecember 27, 2012January 1, 2013 charity: water $45,874 120 hours 9 Zeldathon LivesJuly 5, 2013July 10, 2013 National Foundation for Transplants $53,039 120 hours 10 Zeldathon: Headstone for a HeroOctober 4, 2013October 6, 2013 Zachary's HeadstoneZachary's Headstone $10,202 48 hours Mini-marathon 11 Zeldathon St. JudeDecember 27, 2013January 1, 2014 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $54,965 120 hours 12 Zeldathon AdventureJuly 10, 2014July 17, 2014 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $97,251 156 hours 13 Zeldathon ReliefDecember 27, 2014January 2, 2015 Direct Relief $106,100 141 hours 14 Zeldathon DeluxeJune 19, 2015June 25, 2015 charity: water $196,097 140 hours 15 Zeldathon HopeDecember 27, 2015January 2, 2016 Help Hope LiveHelp Hope Live $251,554 147 hours 16 Zeldathon RecoveryJune 17, 2016June 23, 2016 Direct Relief $230,077 148 hours 17 Zeldathon ClassicOctober 14, 2016October 17, 2016 Child's Play $27,546 72 hours Mini-marathon 18 Zeldathon CuresDecember 27, 2016January 2, 2017 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $376,157 143 hours 19 Zeldathon WildJune 5, 2017June 11, 2017 WILD Foundation $169,982 147 hours 20 Anything Other Than ZeldathonSeptember 29, 2017October 2, 2017 Help Hope Live $26,803 75 hours Mini-marathon - did not play Zelda titles 21 Zeldathon MissionDecember 27, 2017January 2, 2018 Direct Relief $224,665 149 hours 22 Zeldathon ChampionsJune 15, 2018June 21, 2018 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $160,013 144 hours 23 Zeldathon ResponseDecember 27, 2018January 2, 2019 Direct Relief $165,000 145 hours 24 Zeldathon HealsJune 13, 2019June 20, 2019 Help Hope Live $170,049 164 hours 25 Zeldathon ForcesDecember 27, 2019January 3, 2020 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $173,700 153 hours 10-year anniversary26 Zeldathon AscentDecember 27, 2021January 2, 2022 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $176,843 147 hours 27 Zeldathon DaybreakAugust 2, 2022August 8, 2022 Direct Relief $125,800 145 hours 28 Zeldathon EchoesJuly 6, 2023July 12, 2023 charity: water $137,400 151 hours 29 Zeldathon DimensionsDecember 27, 2023January 2, 2024 Make-A-Wish Foundation $112,445 149 hours 30 Zeldathon 1986August 13, 2024August 20, 2024 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $105,822 155 hours 31 Zeldathon VoyageJune 9, 2025June 15, 2025 charity: water $123,500 134 hours 32 Zeldathon MythosDecember 27, 2025January 2, 2026 Make-A-Wish Foundation $129,108 134 hours 33 Super ZeldathonJuly 19, 2026July 26, 2026 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital TBD TBD 34 Zeldathon LegacyDecember 2026 TBD TBD TBD
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 1 Piece of HeartMay 24, 2019May 26, 2019MomoCon 2019 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $16,051 26 hours Final duration excludes breaks between days. 2 Piece of HeartMay 26, 2022May 29, 2022MomoCon 2022 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital $20,122 42 hours Final 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 1 Side QuestAugust 7, 2020August 12, 2020 Direct Relief $72,127 127 hours Online-only event 2 Take to the Seas!December 26, 2020January 2, 2021 charity: water $87,887 172 hours Online-only event 3 A Fantastic Journey!June 11, 2021June 18, 2021 Direct Relief $78,250 157 hours Online-only event 4 Banana Slamma!September 17, 2021September 19, 2021 Starlight Children's Foundation $8,045 48 hours Online-only event 5 Dampe's Twilight Tour!October 28, 2022October 31, 2022 Gamers Outreach Foundation $12,600 42 hours Online-only event, final duration excludes breaks between days 6 Waluigi's Arcade Heist!October 27, 2023October 30, 2023 Starlight Children's Foundation $8,300 43 hours Online-only event, final duration excludes breaks between days 7 Winter MasqueradeDecember 29, 2024January 2, 2025 Starlight Children's Foundation $29,056 70 hours Final duration excludes breaks between days. 8 Retro RodeoMarch 20, 2026March 23, 2026 Starlight Children's Foundation $18,617 42 hours Online-only event, final duration excludes breaks between days.
Fairy Fountain In 2025, the Zeldathon Team announced Fairy Fountain, a music-based charity event being done in collaboration with Ongaku Overdrive to support relief efforts for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. One year later, it was announced that Fairy Fountain would be returning as a recurring event, with the event's second iteration featuring a broadcast of Legendary, a live concert produced by Ongaku Overdrive in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series.
#TitleStart dateEnd dateCharityTotal raisedDurationNotes 1 Hearts for LAFebruary 16, 2025February 17, 2025 LA Wildfire Relief $8,005 10 hours Online-only event 2 Hope For The DayFebruary 20, 2026February 22, 2026 Hope For The Day $8,150 23 hours Final duration excludes breaks between days.
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