About two months ago, Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg did something his fans wanted for years and that was to create a Minecraft video, and has continued to make them ever since. Kjellberg's biggest month to date was highlighted by more than 570 million views in July. This video also launched an exciting new trend among YouTube's top creators.
For the first time since January 2017, Minecraft has surpassed Fortnite as the game that is most searched on YouTube. Minecraft is having a moment again, and it's reminiscent of one of YouTube's first gaming trends, known as the "PewDiePie Effect."
The "PewDiePie Effect" is a term that YouTuber and commentator Matthew "MatPat" Patrick used in an interview about creators' influences on the market. Welcome To My Blog In 2014, when Kjellberg (a controversial YouTube creator who's faced criticism for using racist language in games and even included anti-Semitic images in a video) was still operating primarily as a gaming channel his decision to upload a "Let's Play" series of a particular game typically manifested in more sales for that game.
Kjellberg is not required for Minecraft Mojang's crafting game has 91 million monthly users. YouTube is a major element in the game's success. YouTube was the first platform where the game was first discovered. It was the second most searched-for phrase on YouTube in 2014. In the end, it was due to that popularity - and the creators jumping on the bandwagon looking for attention - that Kjellberg never played the game.
Kjellberg said it felt like people were playing it because it was popular, and not because they were having fun playing it.
Minecraft has now become an full-time job for Kjellberg who admitted to having a blast just playing the game. In the same video, he admitted that he no longer is aware of what other players are doing online. He added that it was "so incredible liberating."
His efforts have paid dividends. VidIQ, a company that develops tools for YouTube creators to monitor their analytics, discovered that Kjellberg is the "top creator of the term "Minecraft" right now," according to content strategist Rob Wilson. This means that when people look up "Minecraft," many of the videos that appear on the first page are his.
Wilson wrote that PewDiePie has basically adopted the most basic principle in the YouTube YouTube playbook. "Focus on a topic and present it to your viewers with every video you create."
Other YouTube creators have also embraced the trend following McLoughlin's new interest in the game. Sean McLoughlin (a creator with more than 22 million subscribers) has also begun to play the game. People have noticed Minecraft having a moment and have decided to jump on the train before it goes away again. It's not just because of Kjellberg - YouTube creator Keemstar's weekly Minecraft tournaments, for example can also generate the traffic and interest, but Kjellberg's visibility is a major factor according to Wilson.
Wilson wrote, "This will also explain why some of your favorite YouTubers suddenly returned to Minecraft or started dabbling with it, jumping on the wave of a resurgence trend here." "And I'm not going to tell you the truth, folks, that's exactly what we are doing at the moment. Jumping on the latest trend."
Kjellberg says that he is simply enjoying playing Minecraft and that's a statement that he emphasizes in nearly all of his videos today. However, he also sees the financial benefits. Ryan Wyatt, head YouTube Gaming, stated that Minecraft isn't just the most popular game on YouTube, but it's also one of the most ad-friendly games.
Video games are becoming a more difficult content category to make money from. Even major companies like AT&T have declared that gaming isn't something they'd like to promote on. There are some games advertisers feel comfortable with however, since they're not considered violent or family-friendly. Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft are three examples of these popular titles.
Kjellberg also earns money from his Minecraft obsession with 570 million views in July. The ability to earn more may be a driving factor for other creators who are taking advantage of the trend and hoping that the trickle-down effect will increase their income.
The current state of Minecraft is proof that the "PewDiePie Effect," a term coined five years ago, is still very much a rage on YouTube.
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