The project began development in 2018, when Bandai Namco Filmworks producer Naohiro Ogata approached Studio Khara's Yuki Sugitani about creating a new Gundam directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, which led to the collaboration between Sunrise and Studio Khara.

The series is set in an alternate version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam's Universal Century timeline, in which Char Aznable, rather than Amuro Ray, seizes the RX-78-02 Gundam during the assault on Side 7, drastically altering the outcome of the One Year War in Zeon's favor.

Director Tsurumaki originally planned to depict the One Year War backstory only in a brief pre-title sequence, but it was later expanded into a full standalone first episode using Hideaki Anno's original plot of Char piloting the red Gundam.

The One Year War flashback episode uses character designs faithful to Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's original art style, distinguishing it visually from the character designs used in the rest of the series.

Ahead of the TV broadcast, a compilation film titled Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- was released theatrically starting January 17, 2025, and became the first Gundam work to be shown in IMAX, later expanding to MX4D and 4DX screenings with bonus footage added after the main feature from February 22, 2025.

According to the production notes, the RX-78-01 '01 Gundam' variant and the RGM-79 Light Gunkanon were created as workarounds during the tight schedule and budget of the Beginning film, reusing existing mecha data to create seemingly new units.

The Light Gunkanon (Gunkanon-Gundam hybrid) mobile suit was conceived after Anno requested a Federation mass-production unit for his scripted segment, and the staff proposed combining existing Gunkanon and Gundam parts instead of commissioning an entirely new design, which meta-textually mirrors the machine's in-story development history.

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- debuted at number one on Japan's weekend box office chart and remained there for two consecutive weeks, eventually grossing over 3.62 billion yen and drawing more than 2.13 million admissions by the end of its run.

The film set a North American box office record for the Gundam franchise, earning $916,664 across 784 theaters during its February 28–March 2 2025 weekend and debuting at number 11 on the North American chart.

The TV series marked the first time a Gundam show aired on the Nippon TV network, completing a run in which all five major Japanese commercial broadcast networks had each aired an original Gundam TV series.

Because the show aired in a late-night slot bundled with a variety program and listed as part of a combined one-hour block, many TV listings and recording devices displayed the title incorrectly or had unclear start times, prompting the official website to issue an apology on May 4, 2025.