PewDiePie Effect

18th Jan, 2023

Felix “PewDiePie”, Kjellberg, did something his fans wanted for years. He made a Minecraft video almost two months ago. And he hasn't stopped making them since. Kjellberg's best month in years was marked by more than 570,000,000 views in July. This video also launched a new trend among YouTube's biggest creators.

Fortnite has been the most searched game on YouTube for the first time since January 2017. It's clear that Minecraft is having a moment once again. This is reminiscent of the “PewDiePie” Effect, one of YouTube's earliest gaming trends.

Matthew Patrick, YouTuber and commentator, used the term “PewDiePie effect” to describe creators' influence on the market. Kjellberg, a YouTube creator who was criticized for using racist language in a stream of gaming and featuring anti-Semitic imagery within a video, was still operating primarily in the gaming channel. His decision to upload a “Let's Play” series of a particular game usually resulted in higher sales.

Kjellberg is not required for Minecraft; Mojang's crafting games has 91 million monthly users. YouTube is a major factor in the game's success. YouTube was the first place where the game was found. It became the second most-searched term on YouTube in 2014. Ironically, Kjellberg never tried it because of its popularity and creators jumping on board to get attention.

Kjellberg stated that it felt like people were playing it because it was popular and not because they were having fun doing it.

Kjellberg said that Minecraft has become his full-time job. He says he enjoys playing the game and is having fun. In the same video, he also admitted that he no longer pays attention to what others are doing online. He added that it was “so goddamn liberating.”

His efforts are paying off. VidIQ, a company that creates tools for YouTube creators to concentrate on their analytics, discovered that Kjellberg is currently the “top creator for [Minecraft] keyword,” according to Rob Wilson, a content strategist. This means that when someone searches the term “Minecraft”, many of the videos found on the first page are his.

Wilson wrote that PewDiePie basically has adopted the most basic principle in the YouTube YouTube playbook. Focus on a topic and communicate that to your audience in every video you make.

Other YouTube creators have picked up the trend after McLoughlin's renewed interest in the game. Sean McLoughlin (a creator with over 22 million subscribers) has also started to play the game. People have noticed Minecraft taking a moment and decided to get on board the train before it disappears again. Wilson says that it's not just Kjellberg. YouTube creator Keemstar's weekly Minecraft tourneys drive traffic and interest. However, Kjellberg's visibility is a significant factor.

Wilson wrote, “This will also explain how some of your favorite YouTubers suddenly returned to Minecraft or started dabbling with it, jumping on a wave of a returning trend here.” “And I'm not going lie to you folks, that's exactly how we are doing it right now. Jumping on a trend.”

Kjellberg says that he is simply having fun with Minecraft, a point he emphasizes in almost all of his videos now. However, he also sees the financial benefits. Ryan Wyatt, head YouTube Gaming, stated that Minecraft is not only the top-rated game on YouTube, but it's also one the most advertiser-friendly.

Video games are becoming a more difficult content category to monetize. Even giants like AT&T have made it clear that gaming is not something they want to advertise on. There are a few games advertisers feel comfortable with, though, as they aren't considered violent or family-friendly. Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft are three examples of these more popular titles.

Kjellberg also makes money from his Minecraft obsession with 570 million views in July. Other creators may see the opportunity to make more and are hoping the trickle-down effect will increase their income.

The “PewDiePie effect,” a term that was first used five years ago, is still very popular on YouTube.