PewDiePie reveals why The Last of Us helped him achieve YouTube success
YouTube: PewDiePie / Naughty Dog[jwplayer ftb8P7Xy]During his playthrough of the Last of Us Part 2, YouTube king Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg opened up to his viewers about how the Naughty Dog franchise helped him become the top individual creator on the platform.
For a lot of people, PewDiePie has been the face of YouTube and online entertainment for the last decade. Many may know him today for his reaction content like Meme Review and Last Week I Asked You, he originally got his start by playing games.
While playing the wildly anticipated title The Last of Us 2 on June 19, the star reflected back on how the series was a big moment for his channel back in 2013. The Swede explained how the Naughty Dog release was important for his career.
YouTube: PewDiePiePewDiePie on The Last of Us
The YouTuber began his video on the The Last Of Us Part 2 by reflecting on his playthrough of the first title in 2013. The star revealed how it was a big moment for his channel, and that viewers had been asking him for weeks to cover the sequel.
“I love the first game, it was one of the biggest playthroughs I’ve ever done on this channel. I’ve been getting messages for weeks, literally asking me if I’m going to play it. Probably the most anticipated game in a very long time,” he said.
“When I played The Last Of Us for the first time, it was a special time for me. It was just as I was about to become the biggest channel on YouTube,” he continued, before showing a clip of his old video and explaining how the game helped him become the top channel.
“I was neck-on-neck with this other channel. And I was a bit worried about it. I thought I only get one chance at this in my life. I need to deliver. And then this game came out and delivered for me, because it was massive for the channel. Thanks for that!” he said.
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The Swedish entertainer also was reminded of a meme that was created from his TLOU video, where someone made a song out of him not being able to decide between ordering the game online, or going to a GameStop. Laughing, he exclaimed, “It’s funny how seven years later and I still have a crappy internet!”
PewDiePie was, of course, already on track to becoming the biggest channel in 2013, as his subscriber total was growing at an unprecedented rate. But according to the Swede, Naughty Dog’s title had a major impact on his channel’s growth at a pivotal time in his career.
The 30-year-old’s decision to focus heavily on streaming in 2020 has paid off so far, as over 80k viewers have tuned in to watch him play The Last of Us Part 2. In May, he announced he had signed a deal with YouTube to live broadcast exclusively on their platform.