YouTube recently hosted an interactive livestream titled “Game On,” which featured popular creators on the platform, but some questionable decisions have led to problems between the company and well-known YouTuber Markiplier. The segment has since been uploaded to Markiplier’s channel, but he and his fans are understandably upset by YouTube’s actions.
Markiplier has been a content creator on YouTube for a long time, having released thousands of videos from vlogs to horror game playthroughs. The YouTube: Game On event, however, has led to some friction between the creator and the company.
What is YouTube: Game On?
YouTube: Game On was announced early in August. Its promotional video promised viewers a live, interactive event with the biggest creators on the platform. Some of the most recognizable names include MatPat, Jacksepticeye, and of course, Markiplier. The event proper would also feature interactive segments of games like Minecraft, Among Us, and Fortnite.
Scheduled to go live on August 27, users were excited to see just how interactive the event would be. They were even more stoked to see some of their favorite YouTubers contributing to the program. Unfortunately, fans who were awaiting Markiplier’s segment would be sorely disappointed.
The Feud Between YouTube and Markiplier
When the event finally went live, Markiplier shared a link to the livestream on his Twitter page, with YouTube even replying to the tweet, encouraging users to join in. However, in the actual stream, Markiplier’s segment was cut short. Instead of an interactive game, a small portion of his footage was used as an intermission.
The community was quick to take notice of this. Markiplier expressed his frustrations on Twitter as the interactive videos were something he and other creators (namely, Nerd Fiction, rad_R, LixianTV, and Nervly) worked hard on. Markiplier’s segment was supposed to be an interactive analog horror-style game that showcased eerie edits of popular YouTube creators. Unfortunately, viewers who tuned in were unable to experience it.
After the livestream, Markiplier uploaded the entire interactive segment to his own channel and titled the first video “YouTube Cut This Content.” The series of videos played like a choose-your-own-adventure game, making use of the endscreen video recommendations to let viewers pick among the provided choices. The goal was to pick the correct choices and arrive at the “good ending.”
While Markiplier’s fans enjoyed the new interactive video series, others called YouTube out for its hasty and unprofessional decision. For one, Markiplier was not informed that his segment would be cut during the livestream. Even worse, the company plastered his image all over the event’s promotional material. Neither of these actions put the company in a favorable light. On the contrary, it makes it appear as if YouTube were just using Markiplier’s name and image to promote the event.
Some users theorize that YouTube’s decision could have something to do with Markiplier’s video titled “Try Not To Get AGE-RESTRICTED Challenge.” In it, Markiplier not-so-subtly calls out the platform’s inconsistent rulings on age-restricted content. The video was released in response to issues surrounding playthroughs of The Mortuary Assistant, particularly CoryxKenshin’s. And notably, it came out right before the YouTube: Game On event premiered.
If this is the reason why YouTube cut Markiplier’s segment short, it only paints the company in an even more negative light. Instead of engaging in dialogue with the creators involved to talk about what the platform could improve, this could be seen as YouTube punishing them for rightfully pushing back against unfair rulings. That said, this is purely speculation. It’s difficult to prove that the Game On incident is directly connected to Markiplier’s video calling out the platform’s age-restriction policies.