Why Every Teen Gamer Is Suddenly Obsessed with Speedrunning (And How You Can Start Too)

Imagine spending 400 hours playing a video game — not to enjoy it leisurely, not to explore every corner of the map, but to absolutely destroy it as fast as humanly possible. That's speedrunning, and if you haven't already fallen down this rabbit hole, buckle up, because it is genuinely one of the wildest, most addictive things happening in gaming right now.

Speedrunning has exploded among Gen Z gamers, and it's not hard to see why. In a world where everyone's chasing clout and looking for their thing, speedrunning offers something rare: a challenge with a clear, measurable goal, a passionate community, and the very real possibility that you — yes, you — could one day be the best in the world at something.

So What Actually Is Speedrunning?

At its core, speedrunning is exactly what it sounds like: completing a video game as fast as possible. But the rabbit hole goes way deeper than just mashing buttons quickly.

There are categories for everything. "Any%" means you can use any method available — glitches, skips, exploits — to reach the credits as fast as possible. "100%" means you have to collect everything in the game before finishing. "Glitchless" bans exploits entirely, testing pure routing knowledge and execution. Some games even have categories like "Low%" where the goal is to finish with as little collected as possible.

The world record times are jaw-dropping. Games that take normal players 20+ hours to complete get finished in under an hour. Sometimes under ten minutes. Watching a speedrunner clip through a wall, skip an entire dungeon, or manipulate a game's random number generator to force a specific outcome feels like watching someone bend reality — because in a very real sense, they are.

Why Are Teens Going Absolutely Feral for This?

There are a few reasons speedrunning has become such a Gen Z obsession, and they all make a lot of sense when you think about it.

It's competitive without being toxic (mostly). Traditional competitive gaming — ranked modes, esports titles, sweaty lobbies — can be brutal and discouraging. Speedrunning is different. You're primarily competing against the clock and against yourself. The community tends to be collaborative rather than cutthroat, with veteran runners actively helping newcomers learn routes and tricks.

It rewards obsession. Gen Z has a well-documented tendency to hyperfixate on things, and speedrunning is practically built for that energy. The more you study a game's mechanics, the more you practice individual segments, the more you analyze your runs — the faster you get. Progress is tangible and measurable.

GDQ made it mainstream. Games Done Quick (GDQ) is a charity speedrunning marathon that happens twice a year and raises millions for causes like Doctors Without Borders. The events are streamed live on Twitch, pull hundreds of thousands of viewers, and feature some of the most insane gaming performances you'll ever witness. For a lot of teens, watching GDQ was the gateway drug.

It's content gold. Speedrunning streams and YouTube videos perform incredibly well. Watching someone break a beloved game apart and reassemble it at warp speed is genuinely entertaining, even if you've never played the game yourself.

The Games With the Biggest Speedrun Communities Right Now

Not all games are created equal when it comes to speedrunning. Some have massive, thriving communities with decades of route optimization. Others are newer discoveries with fresh potential.

Minecraft: Probably the most accessible speedrun for beginners. The "Any% Random Seed" category has exploded in popularity, and the community is massive. Dream's controversial run in 2020 (and the drama that followed) put Minecraft speedrunning on the mainstream map.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: An absolute classic. OoT has one of the most technically impressive speedrun communities in history, with tricks like "wrong warping" that allow runners to skip massive chunks of the game through deep mechanical exploitation.

Celeste: A platformer specifically designed to be challenging, Celeste has a speedrun community that's welcoming, diverse, and incredibly skilled. It's also a game where the gap between a beginner and a world record holder is more about practice than obscure glitch knowledge.

Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario 64: Nintendo's Mario games are speedrunning royalty. SM64 in particular has one of the most storied speedrun histories in gaming.

Elden Ring: FromSoftware games have insane speedrun communities, and watching someone defeat Elden Ring in under 10 minutes is genuinely incomprehensible.

Your Beginner's Roadmap to Actually Speedrunning

Okay, you're interested. Here's how to actually get started without completely losing your mind.

Step 1: Pick a game you already love. Don't choose a game because it has a cool speedrun — choose a game you know well. Familiarity with the game's layout, enemies, and mechanics gives you a huge head start.

Step 2: Go to Speedrun.com. This is the central hub for all things speedrunning. Find your game, look at the leaderboards, and most importantly, look for a "Resources" section in the game's forum. Most established communities have guides, Discord servers, and tutorial videos for beginners.

Step 3: Watch runs before you attempt them. Spend time watching world record runs and tutorial videos. You don't need to understand everything immediately — just start absorbing the routing and identifying major skips or tricks.

Step 4: Start slow and segment practice. Don't try to do a full run immediately. Break the game into sections and practice each part until it feels comfortable. Livesplit (free software) lets you set up a timer with splits for each section of your run, so you can track your progress over time.

Step 5: Join the community. Almost every game's speedrun community has a Discord server, and they are almost universally welcoming to beginners. Ask questions. People will help you. It's one of the genuinely wholesome corners of gaming culture.

Step 6: Submit your first run. Once you finish a run — even if it's slow, even if you made a million mistakes — submit it to Speedrun.com. You're now officially a speedrunner. Welcome to the obsession.

The Bottom Line

Speedrunning isn't just about being fast. It's about understanding a game on a level most players never reach. It's about community, creativity, and the very human desire to push limits and find out exactly how far something can be broken.

For teens who want a challenge that's genuinely rewarding, a community that actually has your back, and content potential that can grow a real following — speedrunning checks every single box.

So pick your game, open Speedrun.com, and start your timer. Your first world record isn't going to happen overnight. But your first run? That can happen this weekend.