Hundreds of thousands of video game enthusiasts from around the world are expected to tune in to a six-day marathon session of game playing beginning today to benefit the humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief.
Trailer:
At Zeldathon, gamers at an undisclosed location in western Pennsylvania will play The Legend of Zelda game series non-stop from 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today straight through to 10:00 a.m. on Jan. 2, a total of 136 hours.
Zeldathon will broadcast live on Twitch (https://zeldathon.net/), where as many as 600,000 people per day have watched previous Zeldathon marathons.
Zeldathon’s organizers hope to raise as much as $200,000 for Direct Relief, says Zeldathon Co-Founder Matthew “MC” Moffit.
Moffit said Thursday said:
“In this Zeldathon, you’ll see a lot more fun things happening on screen, making it exciting to watch at all hours. We want to put on a good show, have everyone enjoy themselves, find a good reason to donate, and maybe get a prize.”
Video gamers and live-streamers now comprise Direct Relief’s largest supporter base. This year alone, Direct Relief has received more than 34,000 donations totaling $1.4 million through platforms that include Twitch, Tiltify and Humble Bundle.
Since 2009, Zeldathon has raised more than $2 million for charities, including $600,000 for Direct Relief.
