Hugely successful YouTuber PewDiePie is known for keeping his 107 million subscribers guessing. The content creator, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, will troll his fans with videos that are deliberately misleading. PewDiePie's fake apology video perfectly encapsulated the elements that make up real apology videos on YouTube, but his latest might not be a genuine prank.
On a platform that has seen a number of hugely popular creators come and go, PewDiePie has maintained his celebrity over a decade of content creation, and only recently lost his title as the most subscribed YouTube channel (an honor now held by Indian music company T-Series). The Swede recently put out a playthrough of Amnesia: Rebirth, a throwback of sorts to the early days of PewDiePie's channel when his videos for Amnesia: The Dark Descent helped boost his profile
Despite continuing to produce content, PewDiePie has declared that he has already retired from YouTube. In a Q&A session with his viewers, he was asked if he'd ever retire. To which he responded "I already have... have you noticed any difference?" This statement is sure to cause confusion, as PewDiePie continues to produce content on YouTube. But what the creator might mean by this statement is that he is producing videos at a more relaxed pace.
The question of retiring has come up before for PewDiePie, as fans wonder how someone can produce so much content for so long. Creator burnout is all too common, yet it hasn't struck Kjellberg as he has taken long breaks away from content creation, and scaled back his output.
It is this scaling back of content that PewDiePie would call his "retirement." The creator jokes with his viewers that he "doesn't have to be on YouTube anymore," but that he still enjoys interacting with his fans and that he loves making videos. With so many subscribers, and the revenue streams that come with that, PewDiePie can produce content at a pace that suits him. Despite having "retired" from YouTube, PewDiePie will continue creating, potentially teaming up with Dr Disrespect for some Among Us in the near future.
The popular streamer is not without his detractors though, with folks who would like to see the creator step away for good. He is often at the top of any list of Most Hated YouTubers, due to some inflammatory content he has produced in the past. Recently, PewDiePie has tried to avoid controversy, and in his "retirement" appears much more mellow.