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Minecraft's recent Surge on YouTube Proves that the 'PewDiePie Effect' still Real

About two months ago, Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg did something his fans wanted for years by creating a Minecraft video, and he's created more ever since. Kjellberg's most successful month in a long time was with more than 570,000,000 views in July. This video also launched the new trend of YouTube's most prolific creators.



Fortnite is the most searched game on YouTube for the first time since January 2017. It's evident that Minecraft is experiencing a boom again. This is similar to the "PewDiePie" Effect, one of YouTube's earliest gaming trends.



The "PewDiePie Effect" is a term that YouTuber and commentator Matthew "MatPat" Patrick used in an interview about the influence of creators on the actual market. In 2014, when Kjellberg (a controversial YouTube creator who has faced criticism for using racist language during a gaming stream and featured anti-Semitic imagery in a video) was still operating as a gaming channel his decision to upload an "Let's Play" series of a certain game usually led to more sales for that game.



Kjellberg is not required to play Minecraft; Mojang's crafting games has 91 million monthly players. 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. It's ironic that Kjellberg hasn't tried it because of its popularity and creators taking to the platform to gain attention.



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



Minecraft has become a full-time job for Kjellberg who claims to be having fun playing the game. In the same video, he also admitted that he no more pays attention to what others are doing on the internet. He added that it was "so amazing and liberating."



His efforts are paying off. VidIQ, a company that creates tools for YouTube creators to monitor their analytics, found that Kjellberg is the "top creator for the term "Minecraft" right this moment," according to content strategist Rob Wilson. This means that when a user is searching for "Minecraft" most of the videos found on the first page are from him.



"Essentially PewDiePie has embraced the most fundamental rule of the YouTube playbook," Wilson wrote. Choose a subject and then communicate that to your viewers in each video you create.
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The renewed interest in the game has led to other YouTube creators catching on to the trend. Sean McLoughlin (a creator with over 22 million subscribers) has also started to play the game. People have noticed Minecraft being in a whirlwind and have decided to jump onto the train before it goes away again. Wilson states that it's not just Kjellberg. YouTube creator Keemstar's weekly Minecraft tournaments generate attention and traffic. However, Kjellberg's presence is a major factor.



Wilson wrote, "This will also explain how some of your favorite YouTubers suddenly returned to Minecraft or even started playing with it, jumping on the back of a popular trend here." "And I'm not going lie to you guys, that's exactly what we're doing it right now. Jumping on an inclination."



Kjellberg's says he's simply enjoying playing Minecraft (a fact he emphasizes in almost every video now), but he's also reaping the economic 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 have become an increasingly difficult content category to make money from. Even big conglomerates like AT&T have signaled out gaming as a type of content they do not wish to advertise on. There are some games advertisers feel comfortable with but they aren't considered dangerous or safe for children. Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft are three examples of these more popular titles.



Kjellberg also makes money from his Minecraft obsession, which has 570 million views in July. Other creators could see the opportunity to make more money and are hoping that the trickle-down effect will boost their income.



The current Minecraft video is evidence that the "PewDiePie Effect," a term coined five years ago, is extremely popular on YouTube.


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