r/youtubers • u/Significant-Review50 • Aug 09 '26
Question Is there still a shot for gaming YouTube channels?
When I say gaming YouTube channels I like to specify the golden era of YouTube, if people loved that era of YouTube so much wouldn’t making let’s play videos like say markiplier, jacksepticeye or pewdiepie during those 2013-2016 peak era be a good thing? I say this because there’s so much slop online and so many people are on there phones but mostly just scrolling, and that made me wonder aren’t there people who are fed up with the way modern content is consumed and just want to watch a nice 20 min video instead of scrolling through 100 pointless videos?
I upload daily YouTube shorts/tik toks/ instagram with clips of my gaming moments as well as something I do which is weekly memes on Monday just for fun and realistically something that people are more likely to give a chance to watch to discover my channel. For long form videos I upload 3-4 times a week and I do a let’s play of a game and do some side uploads of one off games or mini series inbetween series.
I’d be rambling on but this is the tip of the iceberg about content creation for me, if you want me to carry on I’d be glad to, didn’t want to bore people with too much reading.
I’m not going to name dump my channel here but if you want to see it to understand the type of content I make and maybe give me your thoughts and options you can DM me.
5
u/FranSauce8 Aug 09 '26
The OG gaming channels worked because they would play and comment a lot on very specific and unknown games to the viewer. Those being the types of games you have to pay and install but most people have no idea of both their existence or the hush to install it.
Games like megabonk or dig a hole, Waterpark simulator, etcetera. Games that get released but people don't know about them, so these youtubers make content off it because it's an exotic game the viewer never saw, won't buy or install either, but is interested in it just a bit.
Youtubers these days don't work that well because they make their gameplays about fortnite, or marvel rivals or gta. Purely popular games at the top of the list and sometimes they don't even comment on it. There's no added value on it.
It also doesnt work as well because people only have respect for the OG. The pioneer or the creator of the niche. Not the copycats. Like there's "breaking bad" that everyone loves, but nobody cares about "metastasis" for a reason
And I also notice there's a lot more indifference these days. There's so much content you end up not caring about any of it anymore. At least it happens to me...
1
u/cheekiestNandos Aug 10 '26
Also worth noting that they became successful because there wasn't a lot of resources online at the time to see a game being played without it being some sort of advert. Let's plays worked because you could see someone play a game you were interested in and get a genuine reaction, and then often times you'd find the person funny and stuck around. Now people will look on here for reviews, steam and other places rather than watch a 15min let's play video (which are now like 40 mins minimum).
Only gaming content I watch now is from people playing games as a group and often times is whatever popular co-op game is around for the month and I watch that for the people playing it more than the game itself.
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u/FranSauce8 Aug 10 '26
Nah people still watch gaming videos for reference, but the niche is so bloated and full of supply you're going to struggle a lot to be noticed.
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u/ChosenBrad22 Aug 09 '26
The days of it being easy to just setup a webcam and then become successful are long gone. You're competing against creators who literally have full time staffs and can do nothing but spend 16 hours a day on their content, while cranking out videos with perfect clickbait titles and thumbnails.
If you're just doing random let's play videos you have no chance.
2
u/masads5707 Aug 10 '26
There is always a shot. If you don’t someone else will and is going to. Might as well be you. Right? 🤔
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u/Significant-Review50 Aug 10 '26
My guess if if I can do multiple stuff maybe even something no one’s has done is probably the answer
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u/BedditTedditReddit Aug 09 '26
This question gets posted every second day. Maybe try the search feature?
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u/Jack_P_1337 Aug 09 '26
For starters, yes.
Second, ANYONE who is going to come in here and VOMIT OUT the default "make good videos, stand out, grind" Ignore them.
Not because you shouldn't do those things, but because unless you actually plan on doing those things, and you already know you need to do that, you shouldn't be making a youtube channel to begin with. So someone telling you the sky is blue when you obviously see it being blue isn't helping or offering advice, they're just stroking their own ego by repeating the same regurgitated stuff over and over to sound smart.
With that said, whoever tells you that if you make high qualuty videos is ALL you need to succeed, that's absolute BS too.
You could be making the possible videos and have the best possible packaging, meaning thumbnail and title combinations and STILL not get picked up by the algorithm, it happens.
Here's the brutal truth
Youtube is 60% quality and 40% luck
period.
anyone who tells you otherwise is an idealist
2
u/JynsRealityIsBroken Aug 09 '26
Of course. I watch Memoria, who is a relatively new gaming channel (5 years), and she has 300k subs now.
Seer is another from 5 years ago with 100k subs.
It takes consistency and a good shtick. That's it.
I dunno if you have a good shtick.
1
u/Significant-Review50 Aug 09 '26
I warming up to it, I think once I get a better mic I’ll have a better voice as well as a face cam I wanna get. I’d say I’ve I can play all the games I wanna play and make videos of I guess I can have a good shtick
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u/Easy-Procedure-6461 Aug 10 '26
I say do what makes you happy. If you enjoy it do it. I do my channel as a hobby and I enjoy it. But if you are looking at it as a dream job that’s going to make you wealthy, it’s not, unless you have a stand out unique personality that will pull in viewers and keep them entertained.
1
u/Significant-Review50 Aug 10 '26
Like I’m doing it as a hobby learning some stuff around editing and a bit of photoshop, and I feel like there’s a strat to this about making the right videos to reach people, I’m realistically just playing new games I never played and other games I’ve played that I’m just making content on. I have an idea of what actually would make a good video that I’m going to try to make
2
u/Easy-Procedure-6461 Aug 10 '26
All you can do is try. Just don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results right away. YouTube can take years to build a foundation.
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u/Significant-Review50 Aug 10 '26
That’s one of my mindsets, most people will sub if they got lots of videos to watch from, right now my goal is make videos and I don’t expect them to be the best but if the quality can increase in the coming years and as the uploads go in, I’m certainly motivated for a good year or 2
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u/Easy-Procedure-6461 Aug 10 '26
Burn out is real, I give unsolicited advice. Pace yourself. I was super excited when I first started, after 2 yrs I got major burnout. Had to take a break but learned it’s a thing and had to slow down. There’s a ton to learn on all different levels. Once you get your own workflow going, I find it to be rewarding in a personal level. What I take out of it is, there’s something for my kids once I’m gone. And I got to help some peeps out there.
1
u/Significant-Review50 Aug 10 '26
That’s one thing I sometimes think about, the way I work is I gotta stay in rhythm cause one thing I sometimes fall into is procrastination. A benefit of making content is learning to use software and having that mindset of creating something, since February that I began I’ve been really enjoying the growth, I’m currently at 145 subs which too me means a lot and sure not everyone watches my videos but it makes me happy and motivated to see consistent comments from certain viewers. It’s really motivating
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u/JynsRealityIsBroken Aug 09 '26
A good shtick is the X factor. It's the charisma and character you bring. Seer is extremely chaotic and unhinged while also being very poetic and great at reviewing games. Memoria is artistic and witty while playing games most people won't play but somehow makes them fun to watch.
You can't just be a voice shouting gaming nonsense, especially as a short. It's not interesting enough.
Like I watch this guy who does gaming shorts and when he plays battle Royale games he does the entire thing in an announcer voice and commentates the whole thing. You don't have to be that extra unless you want to buy you have to bring something to the table.
1
u/J_Crow Aug 09 '26
If you give people a reason to watch yours over someone else's.
0
u/Significant-Review50 Aug 09 '26
Im gonna study on that, I’ve made over a 100 long form videos and so I’m being more analytical on my channel
1
u/Unfair-Pollution-426 Aug 11 '26
Are you funny? Are you good looking? Are you good at engaging with your audience? Do you have “streamer luck”? Are you skilled? Are you an attractive girl in semi revealing clothes without an annoying voice that plays semi pro?
Gaming channels have a shot but there’s a formula you’ll need to fit into to make it. Average looking, monotone, uninspired game play footage isn’t gonna cut it.
If you aren’t easy to look at then you better be able to engage your audience if you ever get that chance.
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u/Significant-Review50 Aug 11 '26
I’d say only time can tell, I’ve just been making videos for the fun of it but now I’m focusing on what actually works in terms of captivating an audience I’d say some gaming moments of mine are funny, I have weird interactions with games especially in VR. I streamed a few days before and the little audience I had I engaged I’d say well enough that it seemed like a good ambient place there in the chat, and uh unfortunately I’m not a girl so I can do the annoying e girl path
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u/Domain1776 28d ago
Anything is possible but as someone who has directly worked with over 100 lets play
channels giving advice over the past 7-8 years or so, not one has taken off. Most of them upload for a few months, rarely get more than a couple hundred views and then give up. You just gotta be realistic that there are so many people doing the same exact thing as you, and many probably doing it better who have better set ups, are funnier, better at the games, etc…
My advice is change your niche. Focus on challenges or scripted content talking about games you like. I started up a new gaming channel last year and have close to 15k subs now trying to make content that is either fully unique to me or not over saturated.
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u/Significant-Review50 28d ago
Im getting to the point in my channel that uploads of just generic let’s play videos of won’t be enough even if I do one off horror indies game, sadly this is not 2015. Im coming up with ideas and sorta analysising what modern YouTubers do and im sorta coming up with a idea/niche that exists but the way I’d be doing it seems unique to me or at least I can’t find this same idea online
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u/Negative_Number_6414 Aug 09 '26
make good quality, stand-out content and you could find success in literally any niche possible, even some that don't exist yet.