What Is Speedrunning? How the World’s Fastest Gamers Play

Someone just finished Super Mario 64 — all 120 stars — in under 38 minutes. Another completed Elden Ring without taking a single hit. Welcome to speedrunning, the art of finishing video games as fast as humanly (and sometimes inhumanly) possible. It’s one of gaming’s most fascinating subcultures: part sport, part science, part performance art, with its own celebrities, charities, and controversies. But what actually is speedrunning, how does it work, and why do thousands of people dedicate themselves to shaving seconds off a decades-old game? Here’s the full explainer.

The basics: categories, timing, and rules

Speedrunning means completing a game (or a defined objective) as quickly as possible, with runs timed precisely and usually recorded. But “completing” varies enormously by category. Any% means reaching the credits by any means necessary — glitches, sequence breaks, and skips all allowed, which is why Any% runs often look nothing like normal playthroughs. 100% requires completing everything the game tracks. Glitchless bans major exploits for a purer test of execution. Low%, no-damage, and meme categories (like “all bosses with a dance pad”) add flavour. Timing conventions matter: real-time attack (RTA) times the run live including loads; in-game time uses the game’s clock; tool-assisted speedruns (TAS) use emulators with frame-perfect inputs to show theoretical perfection — not comparable to human runs, but invaluable for discovering what’s possible. Speedrun.com hosts the leaderboards, rules, and categories for thousands of games — the sport’s official record book.

Glitches: the science of breaking games

The most mesmerising part of speedrunning is glitch exploitation — and it’s genuine technical craft. Common techniques: wrong-warping (tricking the game into loading the wrong area, skipping hours), clipping through walls via precise movement, save corruption to manipulate memory, and RNG manipulation (controlling the game’s “random” numbers through precise inputs, since game randomness is actually deterministic). Runners reverse-engineer games with the rigour of security researchers, using emulators with debugging tools to inspect memory in real time. Famous examples: the “0/1 star” Super Mario 64 runs that leap impossible gaps with frame-perfect jumps; Ocarina of Time’s wrong warp to the credits; the Pokémon Red “save corruption” runs that rewrite the game’s code mid-run. Understanding a glitch means understanding the game’s programming deeply — which is why speedrunners often know more about a game’s internals than its developers. It’s not cheating; it’s the game being played at a level its creators never imagined, within rules the community defines and enforces.

The community: GDQ, marathons, and culture

Speedrunning’s beating heart is its community events. Games Done Quick (GDQ) — twice-yearly week-long marathons — has raised over $50 million for charities including Doctors Without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation, with runners performing live before huge audiences and explaining their tricks in real time. It’s genuinely joyful television: technical mastery plus infectious enthusiasm plus charitable giving. The community culture values knowledge-sharing over secrecy — top runners publish tutorials, newcomers are welcomed, and discovering a new time-saving trick (“timesave”) earns community-wide celebration. European events like ESA (European Speedrunner Assembly) give the scene a local flavour. Getting involved is easy: pick a game you love, check its Speedrun.com page for beginner guides, join its Discord, and submit a run — nobody expects world records; the community celebrates personal bests at every level. For picking that first game, the best video games for beginners overlap nicely with popular speedrunning titles.

Why people do it: the psychology of the grind

What drives someone to attempt the same 90-second level 10,000 times? Partly it’s the flow state — speedrunning at a high level demands total concentration that many describe as meditative. Partly it’s measurable mastery in an uncertain world: the timer doesn’t lie, and progress is unambiguous. Partly it’s community and identity — being “the person who runs” a game confers belonging. And partly it’s the puzzle-solving: routing a run (planning the optimal path through a game) is genuinely intellectually demanding, combining memory, execution, and probability. The dark side exists too: grinding can become compulsive, and the pressure of live performance causes real anxiety — top runners talk openly about burnout and the need for balance. For most, though, speedrunning is a hobby that teaches patience, precision, and resilience. The skills transfer, too: several runners have parlayed their reverse-engineering knowledge into games industry and cybersecurity careers. The BBC has profiled speedrunners and the GDQ phenomenon, capturing why this strange pursuit resonates so widely.

How to start: your first speedrun

Starting is simpler than it looks. Choose a short game you already know well — familiarity beats novelty; popular beginner picks include Portal, Super Mario Bros., and Celeste. Learn the Any% route from the game’s Speedrun.com guides and YouTube tutorials — don’t invent your own route yet. Practise in segments using save states (emulator) or chapter selects before attempting full runs. Record your attempts (OBS is free) — you’ll want proof for leaderboard submission, and watching your own runs reveals mistakes. Submit to the leaderboard regardless of time; the community welcomes newcomers. Set process goals (“learn the first three levels’ tricks this week”) rather than outcome goals (“get top 100”). And join the game’s Discord — runners share discoveries, answer questions, and organise races (simultaneous attempts where everyone starts together — the most fun format for beginners). Budget-wise, speedrunning is nearly free: the game, a timer (LiveSplit, free), and recording software. For shorter games to practise routing concepts, the best puzzle games for rainy days include several with active speedrunning scenes.

Speedrunning’s secret benefit: game preservation

Beyond the spectacle, speedrunning serves an unexpected cultural function: preservation. Runners document games with extraordinary precision — every glitch, every mechanic, every version difference catalogued on wikis and forums. When old games become unplayable on modern hardware, the speedrunning community’s knowledge (and its tool-assisted demonstrations) preserves how these games actually behaved, down to the frame. Several runners have discovered and documented regional differences, revision changes, and even unreleased content. In an era when digital storefronts delist games and online servers shut down, this obsessive documentation is genuine cultural archiving — the speedrunners as librarians of play, ensuring the games survive their platforms.

Conclusion

Speedrunning is the art of completing games as fast as possible — through categories, glitches, routing, and relentless practice — sustained by one of gaming’s most welcoming communities and showcased in charity marathons watched by millions. It looks like madness from outside and feels like mastery from inside. Pick a game you love, learn its route, submit your first run, and you’ll understand within a week why people dedicate years to saving seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is speedrunning?

Completing a video game (or specific objective) as quickly as possible, with timed, usually recorded attempts ranked on leaderboards. Categories like Any%, 100%, and glitchless define the rules.

Is speedrunning cheating?

No. Glitches and exploits are used within community-defined rules, openly documented and celebrated. Tool-assisted runs (TAS) are a separate category showcasing theoretical perfection.

How do I start speedrunning?

Pick a short game you know well, learn the route from Speedrun.com guides, practise in segments, record attempts with free software (OBS, LiveSplit), and join the game’s Discord community.

What is Games Done Quick?

Twice-yearly charity speedrunning marathons that have raised over $50 million for causes like Doctors Without Borders, featuring live runs with commentary explaining the techniques.

Do speedrunners make money?

A few top runners earn through streaming, sponsorships, and event appearances, but for most it’s a hobby. The real rewards are community, mastery, and the occasional charity marathon spotlight.