144 Hours on DDR: Hungarian Gamer Sets a New World Record

A Hungarian gamer has danced his way into the record books. Szabolcs “GrassHopper” Csépe has set the Guinness World Record for the longest video game marathon, playing Dance Dance Revolution for 144 hours. That's six days on a metal pad, thousands of songs, and a calorie burn most smartwatches would refuse to believe. Here's what the record is, the rules that made it legit, and how he got his body to cooperate.

What’s the new record — and what did it beat?

Guinness has certified Csépe’s 144-hour DDR session as the longest video game marathon and the longest on a rhythm game.

• New mark: 144 hours on Dance Dance Revolution
• Old mark: 138 hours 34 seconds by Carrie Swidecki (2015, Just Dance)
• When/where: 23–29 October (last year), Kecskemét, Hungary
• Volume: 3,000+ songs; ~22,000 calories burned

The headline is simple: the all-time marathon record stood for nearly a decade, and it’s now owned by someone who literally kept moving the whole time. For context, Guinness requires strict evidence, witness logs, and rest break rules. You can’t just pause a stream and call it a day; it’s a proper audit trail.

How do you even dance for six days?

Turns out you don’t jump in blind. Csépe built up to it with other marathons, then planned fuel, hydration, and staff support.

• Stepping stones: Naruto (28 hr 11 min), Tetris Effect (32 hr 32 min 32 s), Gran Turismo 7 (90 hr)
• Prep keys: practice attempts, small support crew, strict food and water plan
• Physical toll: arm/shoulder fatigue, long hours on foot, careful pacing

The expanded plan matters because rhythm games add a twist: movement is constant, but you can pace difficulty and song choice to manage exertion. He called the run “challenging and comfortable”—odd phrasing until you realise DDR lets you move freely without the sudden spikes you get in racers or shooters.

The guardrails: what Guinness typically checks

Guinness records aren’t a vibes-based system. There are standard rules and logs to confirm the attempt.

• Breaks: small, scheduled rest windows that can be banked
• Evidence: continuous video, independent witnesses, time-stamped logs
• Health & safety: visible condition checks, hydration, and medical common sense
• Game integrity: no mods that reduce effort; standard DDR cabinet/pads

Why this matters: internet “records” pop up all the time, but the Guinness stamp only lands when documentation is watertight. That’s why official confirmation often comes months after an attempt.

Why this one resonates beyond DDR diehards

Rhythm games straddle fitness and fun. A six-day DDR run lands squarely in that crossover.

• Fitness angle: ~22,000 calories is a serious endurance load
• Skill curve: accuracy over days, not minutes, without injury
• Community factor: marathon culture across arcade and sim fans
• Legacy: first to beat the near-10-year mark set on a different style of rhythm game

For the UAE gaming crowd, where events are tilting toward “phygital” experiences, this sits neatly with the trend of sport-meets-gaming. If you fancy the real-world crossovers, keep an eye on major local events that mix movement and play such as Games of the Future Abu Dhabi in December — a different format, same energy of athletic gaming. See our coverage for dates and context: Games of the Future 2025 lands in Abu Dhabi

What’s next for GrassHopper?

He hasn’t said what challenge comes next. After ticking off the big one, he’s earned a pause.

• Open options: racing sims again, new rhythm targets, or genre one-offs
• Community watch: future streams on his usual channels
• Reality check: recovery time matters after multi-day attempts