One of speedrunning’s longest-standing world records has fallen. A 15-year-old runner known as Star has beaten SHiFT’s SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom record, ending a reign that lasted roughly 10 years.
The timing couldn’t be more dramatic. Star’s run landed right around the moment SHiFT was preparing a subathon to celebrate a full decade at the top of the leaderboard. According to community reports, SHiFT had officially held the record for 10 years and 10 days, and had also recently announced he was stepping away from grinding the game.
Battle for Bikini Bottom, released in 2003 by Heavy Iron Studios, is one of the most beloved licensed games ever made. Its precise movement tech, deep routing options, and long list of glitches turned it into a staple of the 3D platformer speedrunning scene. Despite being over 20 years old, it still pulls a dedicated audience.
SHiFT has been the face of that scene for years. Community estimates put his total time in the game close to 30,000 hours, and he is widely credited with documenting many of the strategies that today’s top runners rely on. Basically, he helped build the ladder that Star just climbed.
Star’s run reportedly leaned on advanced tech, including the notorious Pause Storage glitch. Pause Storage lets runners carry a game state through a pause menu, opening up movement tricks and skips that would normally be impossible. It’s the kind of technique that separates casual attempts from world-record pace.
Instead of a meltdown, SHiFT gave Star his flowers. He verified the run himself on Speedrun.com and later posted a video praising Star’s execution, calling out the clean use of Pause Storage in particular. For a runner who dedicated a decade of his life to one game, watching a teenager take the crown and then handing them the certificate is about as classy as it gets.
