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Pewdiepie gathers online video stars for entertainment network
YouTube star Pewdiepie wouldn't earn millions from the video platform if he weren't tremendously popular, so creating a network of his own sounds like a logical next step. The Swedish bro has joined forces with Disney-owned Maker Studios to launch a multichannel network called Revelmode that brings together a collection of online celebrities. Pewdiepie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, said he and the other talents will develop everything from original series, games and animated videos to music and clothes.
Play a game about YouTube stars in 'PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist'
The gaming stars of YouTube were recently turned into physical action figures, but their next big feat takes them back to the digital realm. PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist is a pixelated action game for iOS and Android starring YouTube sensation Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg and a host of his fellow online entertainers, including Marzia, CinnamonToastKen, JackSepticEye, Cryaotic and Markiplier. Legend of the Brofist features a mix of platforming, bullet hell and and sidescrolling action genres, and it comes courtesy of retro-focused Canadian studio Outerminds. It's $5 on the App Store and Google Play.
'No Man's Sky' will get a Stephen Colbert 'Late Show' demo
With Apple CEO Tim Cook and other guests, Stephen Colbert has shown that tech will be a big part of his Late Show appeal. That includes gaming, judging by two segments scheduled for next week. On Friday, Colbert will welcome Hello Games founder Sean Murray, who will do an interview and demonstration of No Man's Sky. The title has made numerous appearances of late, including in our own Twitch interview (below). Sony is no doubt building hype for a release of the presumed blockbuster, which will debut on the PS4. The question on everyone's mind, of course, is "when is it coming?" We doubt that'll be answered on Late Show, but you never know.
YouTube's PewDiePie is (definitely not) starring in a TV show
Let's start this off with a disclaimer: PewDiePie is a massively popular YouTube personality who reacts in funny ways while playing video games. He has more than 39 million subscribers, he's been spoofed on South Park and he makes millions each year. He's successful at being silly -- which is serious business, as Twitch's $1 billion price tag, YouTube's new Gaming section and its coming Subscription services demonstrate. A lot of people enjoy PewDiePie and a lot of people don't. Either way, his success and impact on the live-streaming industry is uncontested. That's why he's newsworthy. Now, on to the news. Felix Kjellberg, known on YouTube as PewDiePie, is in Los Angeles right now to work on something that sounds a lot like a TV show.
YouTubers will be the stars of its subscription service
Google's bringing a paid-for subscription service to YouTube next year, but don't expect the company to sign a deal with a TV studio for some exclusive content. Instead, the site is going to see if its wide stable of home-grown talent will provide enough of a draw for you to fork over several bucks from your paycheck each month. According to Bloomberg, almost all of YouTube's biggest names, including PewDiePie and Smosh have already signed up to be a part of the new offering when it goes live.
YouTube millionaire PewDiePie responds to his haters
Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, made a lot of money last year. His company, PewDiePie Productions, brought in about $7 million in revenue, mainly off of Kjellberg's YouTube videos where he plays video games and reacts in silly ways. With those videos, he's also raised more than $1 million for charity over the years. Kjellberg has 37.7 million subscribers on YouTube and about 9 billion views overall -- considering that he receives ad revenue based on the number of views his videos get, it's not surprising that he's making serious bank. However, When news of Kjellberg's revenue hit the 'net, quite a few people responded with anger, outrage or thinly veiled jealousy, as they do any time that PewDiePie's revenue goes public. This year, Kjellberg made a video addressing the money issue, including a brief description of his not-so-glamorous life before YouTube.
YouTube star PewDiePie made $7 million in 2014
Last year around this time, word got out that Felix Kjellberg, a 24-year-old Swedish bro known online as PewDiePie, made $4 million a year by playing video games, recording his reactions and uploading the resulting videos to YouTube. At the time, he had 27 million YouTube subscribers. Today, Kjellberg has 37.7 million subscribers on YouTube and his company, PewDiePie Productions, pulled in roughly $7.4 million in revenue in 2014, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen. It looks like this whole "watch people play video games on the internet" craze is here to stay.
PewDiePie and Let's Plays at center of latest South Park
"The living room is dying," Kyle Broflovski solemnly states in this week's episode of South Park, as he loudly longs for the days when he and his brother Ike would spend their days together, playing Call of Duty and other video games. See, Ike isn't interested in playing games anymore. He's interested in watching YouTube stars like PewDiePie play and make commentary. Following up on episodes like "Freemium Isn't Free" and "Grounded Vindaloop" which also explored aspects of video games and game culture, "#REHASH" is the episode for anyone who just doesn't get what the big deal is with Let's Play personalities like PewDiePie. Watch the episode and see what we mean, bros. [Image: Comedy Central]
SpeedRunners recruits YouTubers to help fight cancer
SpeedRunners, a PC game about superheroes racing one another, is now a game about YouTubers racing one another - or at least it is for the duration of a week starting on Monday, October 20, when developer DoubleDutch Games and publisher tinyBuild host the "King of Speed" tournament. "A couple of months ago we had this idea. The idea that cancer sucks. And we should do something about it, with speed and running," an email to Joystiq from tinyBuild states. "SpeedRunners became popular in large part because of YouTubers. Why not put them in the game and create a charity campaign?" To that end, eight YouTube personalities have been adapted to the SpeedRunners world and divided into two teams of four. Each team will sell as a DLC pack for $2.99. Once the King of Speed tournament is underway, player wins will accrue under their respective team's banner. The team with the most wins, well ... wins. The entirety of the winning team's DLC sales will be donated to fighting cancer, while 30 percent of all DLC will go toward the cause as well. If you don't want to play as any of the YouTube personalities but still want to help push a team to victory, playing as either SpeedRunner or The Falcon will also count toward the tournament tallies for their respective team. To see who's on which team, check out the full list after the break:
PewDiePie talks management, considers starting network
If you made more than $4 million a year handling all production elements of your own content, wouldn't you consider venturing outside an established network? YouTuber Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg has entertained the idea after communication issues with two prominent networks, as detailed in an interview with Icon Magazine. Kjellberg hired a lawyer to help free himself from a lifelong contract with Machinima, where he says management ignored his rise to stardom. He then signed with Maker Studios, a network that Disney purchased earlier this year for $950 million, as reported by The New York Times. Kjellberg cited a problematic lack of communication during his time with Machinima, but aside from answering requests for help, he added that working with Maker hasn't really changed things. With his current contract expiring in December, Kjellberg seems poised to start his own network: "I'm in touch with a couple of people who I think would be so right for this," he explained, adding that he's eager to start such a project and would like to help other YouTubers in the process. Despite Kjellberg feeling that "all the networks have been arranged in such an incredibly poor way," he did not outright confirm his departure from Maker once his contract expires. Whatever direction Kjellberg decides to move in, we imagine his bros will follow. [Image: Pewdiepie]
Joystiq Weekly: Sony financials, Destiny review, Minecraft sale and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. What would you do with $2.5 billion? Sure, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson isn't pocketing the entire sum from Microsoft's acquisition of Mojang, but something tells us he'll uh, be okay for a few years. Unless you're keen on buying small nations and playing a real-world game of Risk, it's tough to imagine spending your share of a massive buyout like that. There was loads more to this week than business deals involving yacht-sized bags of money, though. There's hope for a playable taste of Final Fantasy 15 in 2015, reviews for Destiny, Hyrule Warriors, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, a full timeline of Minecraft's progress from day one and loads more, all awaiting you after the break!
PewDiePie joins MLG.tv with exclusive BroKen streams
PewDiePie, the internet's most famous YouTuber (this sentence wouldn't have made sense 10 years ago), has signed a deal to bring episodes of his "BroKen" podcast to launch exclusively on MLG.tv, with the premiere stream tonight. "BroKen" stars PewDiePie – normal name Felix Kjellberg – and fellow streamer CinnamonToastKen. "Our vision for MLG.tv is to make it the home for premium content and producers like PewDiePie and his show 'BroKen,'" MLG VP of Programming Ryan Wyatt said. "This type of programming deal with PewDiePie, one of the biggest stars in digital media, is a great example of the premier talent we have joining the growing MLG.tv line-up." PewDiePie brings in $4 million a year in ad revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported in June. Earlier in September, PewDiePie announced that he would permanently disable all comments on his YouTube videos, forever and always.
YouTube wunderkind PewDiePie earns over $4 million each year
If you're contemplating a career change, you may want to look into playing video games and shouting into a camera, as doing just that has made Felix Kjellberg a millionaire. Better known by his phonetically troublesome online handle "PewDiePie," Kjellberg has turned online video game streaming into a massively lucrative venture. According to the Wall Street Journal, the PewDiePie brand now attracts more than $4 million each year in ad revenue, thanks to the 27 million subscribers who follow Kjellberg's YouTube channel, where the 24-year-old frequently uploads videos of himself playing (and swearing at) various games. Kjellberg attributes his success not to dumb luck or having capitalized on the streaming games trend at the exact right moment, but to a more personal touch that comes through in his videos. "Unlike many professionally produced shows, I think I've established a much closer contact with my viewers, breaking the wall between the viewer and what's behind the screen," he told the Wall Street Journal. "What I and other YouTubers do is a very different thing, it's almost like hanging around and watching your pal play games." [Image: YouTube/PewDiePie]
