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Gaming is nothing new to YouTube. If you’ve ever been on the Internet, you’ve probably have seen one of PewDiePie’s gaming videos at some point or another. In 2015, YouTube decided to spotlight its community of gamers with its launch of YouTube Gaming. While the app version was a flop, YouTube Gaming has grown into a rewarding and robust community since then. Twitch might be the most popular game streaming platform at the moment, but YouTube seems to be closing in the gap.
What is YouTube Gaming?
YouTube Gaming is YouTube’s initiative to capture the gaming community. On YouTube, Gaming has its very own section that you can subscribe to. On its homepage, YouTube Gaming offers different channels for different games. For instance, in the Among Us channel, you can browse videos in the Live, Recent, Explore, and Let’s Play categories. The platform also recommends trending and popular videos.
To get your videos into the Gaming section, just make sure your title, description, and tags are all cohesive and accurate.
Top Channels
1. PewDiePie
Who’s never heard of Felix Kjellberg? This Swedish YouTuber used to have the most subscribers on YouTube until recently. While Kjellberg has ventured into comedy skits and vlogs, the YouTuber is mainly known for his Let’s Play videos. Audiences are charmed by Kjellberg’s reactions, humor, and authenticity. Kjellberg has been noted to have some sort of Oprah effect, where the games he play experiences dramatic sales increases. As of late, the gamer has posted content daily either with prerecorded videos or livestreams.
- Subscribers: 107M
- Video Views: 26,243,322,837
- Subscribers Rank: 4th
- Games Rank: 1st
2. Markiplier
Los Angeles-based Mark Fischbach’s channel is full of Let’s Play videos. His genre of choice is horror, but his commentary has his subscribers cracking up in the comments. His channel also includes compilations, animations, and even sketch comedy videos. Fischbach posts 3-5 times a week. While the gamer does use Twitch as a livestreaming platform, Fischbarch is known on his YouTube channel for conducting charity livestreams, using his platform to advocate for different issues.
- Subscribers: 27.1 M
- Video Views: 14,177,935,427
- Subscribers Rank: 89th
- Games Rank: 7th
3. VanossGaming
Canadian gamer Evan Fong is also known for his video-game-commentary. While a typical video would include a compilation of him and his friends playing a game together, Fong’s channel also puts out fun animations. VanossGaming has an easy-going tone, where Fong and his friends are always cracking jokes and laughing with each other. On YouTube, he produces videos every other day, but has not been livestreaming recently
- Subscribers: 25.3M
- Video Views: 13,105,945,305
- Subscribers Rank: 113th
- Games Rank: 8th
4. Jacksepticeye
Top Irish YouTuber Seán McLoughlin is famous for both his entertaining Let’s Play videos and his swearing. His snarky commentary may not be kid-friendly, but it has built quite the loyal following. McLoughlin posts 4-5 times per week and often plays with PewDiePie and Markiplier.
- Subscribers: 25.1M
- Video Views: 13,341,473,871
- Subscribers Rank: 121st
- Games Rank: 9th
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How Do You Grow Your YouTube Gaming Channel?
Content, Content, Content
Do you have a sense of humor? Are you incredibly skilled or incredibly bad? What’s your unique angle? Anyone can play video games, but it’s the person that plays that makes all the difference when growing (https://neoreach.com/youtube-algorithm/) your channel.
Here are some general tips:
- Find your niche
- Upload content regularly
- Collaborate with other YouTubers
- Listen to your audience and focus on audience retention
- Be your own unique brand
Streaming vs Recorded
Some gamers do either or, some gamers do both. Each format has its own advantages and drawbacks.
If you want to be able to interact with your audience, streaming is the way to go. With streaming, you don’t have to edit! Granted, the time you saved from not editing is more than made up with the amount of effort it takes to stream. If you choose to only stream, you need good wifi, be entertaining on-demand, and be able to multitask well. All of this time and effort can be taxing when you have a life and career outside of YouTube.
With prerecorded videos, you don’t have to multitask with the live chat, and you don’t even need good Internet. Many creators hate editing, but it can help boost your entertainment value. You can always cut out embarrassing interruptions and awkward silences or add special effects for comedic purposes.
