After Felix Kjellberg, better known by his monicker PewDiePie, used racist language during a livestream of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, there was an immediate reaction from within the video game community. Campo Santo Games, the developer of acclaimed 2016 indie hit Firewatch, did not pull any punches regarding this latest PewDiePie racism controversy, with developer Sean Vanaman stating that the studio would make copyright strikes against any videos of Campo Santo projects.

Now, it has been confirmed that the Firewatch developer logged a DMCA takedown strike, and that it has been upheld by YouTube, in spite of PewDiePie's move to privatize his Firewatch video out of respect for the studio. The news of this takedown request being approved was revealed by PewDiePie himself, who took to his YouTube channel to discuss the matter.

This could have some major ramifications for PewDiePie's channel as a whole. Although YouTube has sometimes been criticized for its lax attitude towards the content on its site in general, it is notoriously stringent when it comes to DMCA takedown requests from copyright holders. Should PewDiePie get more than three of these strikes, then his channel could be shut down entirely.

The fact that the request has been agreed by YouTube will no doubt be a major cause of concern for PewDiePie. Initially, Campo Santo's Vanaman also suggested that other developers followed his lead and also took action against the YouTube star, so if enough other studios follow suit then it could see the end of PewDiePie's hugely popular gaming channel altogether.

After the stream of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds took place, PewDiePie offered up an apology for his use of the racial slur. "It was something I said in the heat of the moment. I said the worst word I could possibly think of," said PewDiePie. "And it just sort of slipped out." Stating that "I’m just an idiot," the YouTube star explained that he hated how he had fed into the use of racial slurs in online gaming.

Of course, this is far from the only time that PewDiePie has been embroiled in controversy. After all, the Let's Play star was dropped from the Disney-owned Maker Studios after a video used insensitive, anti-Semitic jokes. Let's see what further action is taken over this latest dispute.

Source: PewDiePie