Minecraft dominates YouTube in 2019 with 100 billion views

In this year’s YouTube Rewind, Minecraft was revealed to be the most-watched game on the platform, at just over 100 billion views. When the blocky crafting sim was first released in 2009, no one could have predicted it would become the gaming powerhouse it is today. None of the games featured in this year’s YouTube Rewind are from 2019.

Following Minecraft’s 100.2 billion views by just under 40 billion is Fortnite, with an impressive 60.9 billion views in 2019. After that is Grand Theft Auto at 36.9 billion, Garena Free Fire at 29.9 billion, and Roblox at 29.6 billion views.

While YouTube did not give specific numbers, the next five most viewed games on the platform are PUBG Mobile, League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Brawl Stars, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

YouTube attributed the surge in popularity to one content creator in particular: Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg. The controversial YouTuber picked up the game earlier this June after stating for several years that he would not play it.

“Despite its long history of popularity, Minecraft experienced a marked increase in attention this year. Its resurgence paralleled the decision by YouTube’s most subscribed creator, PewDiePie, to re-engage with the game in late June,” the company wrote on the Rewind page. “The month after PewDiePie posted ‘Minecraft Part 1′ — his first Minecraft video in years — uploads of videos related to the game reached an all-time high. And Minecraft, once again, returned to its place atop the most-viewed games of the year list.”

Minecraft has likely continued its domination of the platform because of its kid-friendly content, constant updates and new content, and an already massive number of players. Earlier this year, Microsoft reported that Minecraft was pulling in more than 112 million players every month. Minecraft also peaked in views on streaming competitor Twitch in August, reaching 44,007 average viewers with a peak of 232,627 according to TwitchTracker.

While the end of 2019 will see the end of a decade, there is no sign that Minecraft will release its hold on the gaming community. How do you feel about Minecraft being the most viewed game of 2019? Let us know in the comments below, and keep an eye out for more gaming news here at Daily Esports.