YouTube has announced that Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg, one of its top stars, has signed an exclusive “live streaming” deal with the video platform. While much of PewDiePie‘s output on YouTube has been heavily edited videos, he had previously moved to livestream exclusively on DLive, but it would appear that we should expect more live videos from the creator in the future on YouTube. Given that PewDiePie was 2019’s most-viewed YouTube creator, the deal makes total sense.
Videos by ComicBook.com
According to YouTube, PewDiePie has racked up 104 million subscribers and generated over 25 billion views to date, which is the most ever of any individually operated YouTube channel. It’s unclear just how much of that success will translate to livestreaming, but it seems clear that YouTube wants whatever he might achieve to stay in house, as it were.
“YouTube has been my home for over a decade now and live streaming on the platform feels like a natural fit as I continue to look for new ways to create content and interact with fans worldwide,” Kjellberg said as part of the announcement. “Live streaming is something I’m focusing a lot on in 2020 and beyond, so to be able to partner with YouTube and be at the forefront of new product features is special and exciting for the future.”
Notably, PewDiePie is a somewhat controversial figure in the community. While he was the first solo YouTube channel to hit 100 million subscribers, he’s also had his fair share of problems over the years, and not-infrequently talks about how terrible YouTube is. Who knows what might happen when he’s doing it live.
“YouTube is where the world comes together to connect and during these unprecedented times, it’s inspiring to see our YouTube community come together to raise money for various charities and provide a source of entertainment to fans around the world,” Ryan Wyatt, Head of Gaming, YouTube, said. “And I couldn’t be more thrilled to continue to grow our roster of creators who are making our platform their exclusive live streaming home to bring fans around the world even more of what they love.”
What do you think about the exclusive deal? Do you watch PewDiePie’s videos? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming! You can check out all of our previous coverage of PewDiePie right here.
