5 streamers who have developed and produced video games

Over the past few years, the livestreaming industry and streamers have seen an unparalleled boom in popularity, initially beginning during the global lockdown. Popular content creators currently boast massive audiences with millions of followers and subscribers, providing a flexible and scalable platform for content creation that they can monetize. Having such a gigantic following, more often than not, empowers content creators to launch their own business ventures.

While the majority of streamers have their own merchandise line, some choose to leverage their large consumer base to start their own production studios or game development companies. These digital celebrities make use of their vast gaming experience to produce and launch their own titles or help other game developers in producing their games. As such, there have only been a few content creators who have forayed into the realm of game development given how expensive the process can be.

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Exploring the paths of five popular streamers who have developed and produced video games

PewDiePie

Widely considered a stalwart in the YouTube world, Swedish YouTuber Felix "PewDiePie" has been one of the biggest streamers and content creators since time immemorial. Currently the second-most subscribed-to individual on YouTube, PewDiePie has helped create four different gaming titles, namely, PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist (2015), PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator (2016), PewDiePie's Pixelings (2019), and Poopdie (2019).

Furthermore, Felix has lent his voice to Doublemoose Games' physics puzzle game, Animal Super Squad. While the first three PewDiePie games were developed by Outerminds Inc., Poopdie was developed by Bulbware. Regardless of their developers, all of these games have done very well, with an average rating of 4 or higher on Steam, App Store, and Google Play.

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Day9

The man behind the 24-hour PogChamp idea that ultimately led to the Komodo Dragon representing all things hype on Twitch, Sean "Day9" is a household name for anybody who has followed Starcraft and its competitive scene. A former professional Starcraft II player, Sean rose to fame as a streamer, thanks to his daily StarCraft strategy show, Day[9] Daily. The iconic show ran for a whopping eight years and featured over 700 episodes.

In addition to being touted as a genius within the Starcraft community, thanks to his in-depth analysis and strategic insights, Day9 also worked as a game designer and producer. In 2013, Day9 announced that he was joining Artillery Games, Inc. to help develop their in-browser RTS game, Guardians of Atlas. Following three sluggish years with nothing of note to show, Sean decided to part ways with Artillery Games in 2016, just four days before the game was soft-launched.

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Shroud

Arguably one of North America's finest professional gamers, Michael "Shroud" is what most call FPS royalty. The former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro-turned-streamer has experienced incredible highs since hanging up his 'mouse.' Shroud currently boasts over 10.5 million followers on Amazon's popular streaming platform and 6.79 subscribers on YouTube.

He recently sent all of his followers into a frenzy after announcing that he was working with British game developer Splash Damage and fellow Twitch streamer Sacriel to create a new open-world survival shooter, Project Astrid. The three-minute-long video was met with plenty of positive reviews and a lot of expectations, considering that one of the finest brains to ever play an FPS is helping with its development.

Although the game was recently announced, its official release could potentially be a couple of years down the line in 2025-2026.

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Dr. Disrespect

December 15, 2021 saw popular American YouTuber and streamer Herschel “Dr Disrespect” dropping a proverbial bomb on the entire gaming community. The big announcement in question? The Two-Time became the very first content creator and streamer to launch his very own AAA game studio, Midnight Society.

With his unquestionable devotion to FPS titles in particular, Hershel announced that he was partnering up with Robert Bowling and Quinn DelHoyo, a former creative strategist for the CoD franchise and former multiplayer designer for Halo 5, respectively.

Four months later, Midnight Studios provided an early look at their very first game, Day Zero. The shooter title promised a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world in a gripping cooperative board game, but the hype was short-lived. After announcing an NFT integration for the game, numerous fans were critical of the decision.

On March 18, 2023, Midnight Society revealed their second game, Deadrop, a free-to-play first-person Vertical Extraction Shooter that's currently in its early access phase.

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Reckful

Byron Bernstein, popularly known as Reckful, was an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber who was well-known for his exceptional in-game prowess and engaging personality. A legend within the World of Warcraft community, Reckful began streaming as early as 2012 on Twitch. Unfortunately, the WoW veteran passed away at the age of 31 in 2020, leaving behind a legacy of exceptional gaming skills, innovative content creation, and philanthropic work.

Prior to his untimely death, Reckful had been working on his very own MMO, Everland. Unlike other popular MMOs, Everland was classified as a 'social MMO,' a place where people could find friendship and a sense of community. It was reported that Byron was working with a team of dedicated individuals and that fans might still be able to play the game in the near future.

However, the game's development is currently being put to a halt as Byron continues to have full legal rights to the game. Despite this, the development team has announced that they intend to fully complete the game in order to carry out Reckful's last wishes.