Career Timeline of PewDiePie: Major Achievements and Milestones

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how PewDiePie made an impact.

Felix Kjellberg, known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish YouTuber renowned for his gaming content. His rise on YouTube and significant media attention have established him as a prominent online personality and content creator. He is considered a key figure on YouTube, especially within the gaming community.

Sections (7)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals Legacy & Impact

December 2006: First YouTube Account Registration

In December 2006, Kjellberg registered his first YouTube account under the name "Pewdie".

April 2010: Registration of the "PewDiePie" YouTube Channel

On April 29, 2010, Kjellberg registered the "PewDiePie" YouTube channel after initially forgetting the password to his first account.

October 2010: First Video Upload

On October 2, 2010, Kjellberg uploaded his oldest available video, titled "Minecraft Multiplayer Fun", to his YouTube channel. The video mainly contained Swedish commentary.

2010: PewDiePie YouTube Channel Registration

In 2010, Kjellberg registered his YouTube channel "PewDiePie", primarily posting Let's Play videos of horror and action video games.

September 2011: Launch of "Fridays with PewDiePie" Vlog Series

On September 2, 2011, PewDiePie began posting weekly vlogs under the title "Fridays with PewDiePie", deviating from his Let's Play videos.

December 2011: Channel Reaches 60,000 Subscribers

By December 2011, PewDiePie's YouTube channel had approximately 60,000 subscribers.

2011: Kjellberg Leaves Chalmers University

In 2011, Felix Kjellberg left Chalmers University of Technology, where he was pursuing a degree in industrial engineering and management.

February 2012: King of the Web contest

In February 2012, Kjellberg ran for King of the Web, winning the "Gaming King of the Web" title and donating his cash winnings to the World Wildlife Fund.

March 2012: Reported video upload frequency

In March 2012, Expressen reported that PewDiePie had been uploading at least one video per day for the preceding seven months.

July 2012: Channel Reaches 1 Million Subscribers

In July 2012, PewDiePie's YouTube channel reached 1 million subscribers.

2012: Fastest-Growing Channel

In 2012 and 2013, PewDiePie's channel was one of the fastest-growing on YouTube in terms of subscribers gained.

2012: Rapid Growth of PewDiePie's Channel

In 2012, PewDiePie's YouTube channel experienced substantial growth, becoming one of the fastest-growing channels on the platform.

May 2013: Wins Social Star Awards

In May 2013, PewDiePie won the awards for "Swedish Social Star" and "Most Popular Social Show" at the inaugural Starcount Social Stars Awards in Singapore.

June 2013: Publication of "A Funny Montage"

In June 2013, PewDiePie published "A Funny Montage", a compilation of clips from previous uploads, which became one of his most-viewed videos.

August 2013: Most Subscribed YouTube Channel

On August 15, 2013, PewDiePie became the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, marking a significant milestone in his career.

2013: Fastest-Growing Channel

In 2012 and 2013, PewDiePie's channel was one of the fastest-growing on YouTube in terms of subscribers gained. Billboard reported that the channel gained more subscribers than any other channel in 2013.

2013: Channel growth and viewership

In 2013, PewDiePie's channel experienced significant growth, rising from 3.5 million to just under 19 million subscribers. The channel also gained the most subscribers compared to any other in 2013 and earned 1.3 billion video views in the second half of 2013.

2013: High video views

PewDiePie's YouTube channel was the most viewed channel in 2013.

March 2014: Estimated YouTube revenue

In March 2014, Kjellberg made an estimated $140,000–$1.4 million from YouTube revenue.

March 2014: Adjusted video production output

In March 2014, PewDiePie announced he would be scaling down the frequency of his video uploads.

April 2014: Marketing campaign begins

Beginning in April 2014 and spanning into August, PewDiePie and his then-girlfriend Marzia began a marketing campaign for the Legendary Pictures film As Above, So Below.

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June 2014: Charity drive for Save the Children

In June 2014, Kjellberg announced another charity drive for Save the Children, which raised over $630,000, surpassing a $250,000 goal.

June 2014: Reported earnings for 2013

In June 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kjellberg earned $4 million in 2013; Kjellberg confirmed the figures were close to his actual earnings.

June 2014: Hosting Sommar i P1

On 3 June 2014, Sveriges Radio announced that Kjellberg was chosen to host his own episode of the Swedish radio show Sommar i P1. Due to his international popularity, the episode was recorded in both Swedish and English.

August 2014: Broadcast of Sommar i P1 episode

On 9 August 2014, the Swedish version of Kjellberg's episode of Sommar i P1 was broadcast on Sveriges Radio P1. The English version was published online, and both versions were widely shared.

September 2014: Streaming BroKen on MLG.tv

In September 2014, Kjellberg began streaming BroKen on MLG.tv, co-hosting the series with Kenneth Morrison, also known as CinnamonToastKen.

December 2014: Most-Viewed Channel on YouTube

From December 29, 2014, PewDiePie's channel was the most-viewed on YouTube, a position he held until February 2017.

2014: YouTube Creator Classification System

Around 2014, YouTube developed a classification system for its creators, categorizing them based on whether they followed the SNL model (springboarding into TV or film) or the Oprah path (building empires on YouTube).

2014: Changes in Commentary Focus

In 2014, PewDiePie's commentaries began to feature games he was interested in, regardless of genre, shifting from a focus on horror video games. Additionally, in September 2014, he announced he would disable comments on his YouTube videos, citing spam and self-advertisements, but continued interacting with his audience through Twitter and Reddit.

January 2015: Partnership with Mountain Dew

In January 2015, PewDiePie partnered with Mountain Dew to launch a fan fiction contest, in which winning fan fiction would be animated into video formats and then uploaded onto his channel.

July 2015: High video view count

During July 2015, PewDiePie's videos were documented to receive over 300 million views per month.

July 2015: Voice acting in Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures

In July 2015, Kjellberg was announced as a voice actor in the Vimeo fantasy series, Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures.

July 2015: Production company earnings in 2014

In July 2015, the Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that Kjellberg's production company, PewDie Productions AB, earned 63.7 million SEK ($7.5 million) in 2014.

September 2015: Release of PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist

On 24 September 2015, Kjellberg released his own video game, PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist, on iOS and Android. The game was developed by Outerminds in collaboration with Kjellberg.

September 2015: 10 Billion Video Views

On September 6, 2015, PewDiePie's YouTube account became the first to surpass 10 billion video views. He also teased about having a role in a web television series in Los Angeles.

October 2015: Release of This Book Loves You

On 20 October 2015, Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Group, released Kjellberg's This Book Loves You, a parody of self-help books. It became a number-one New York Times Best Seller.

2015: Change in Video Content Style

Around 2015, PewDiePie's video content experienced a change in style, with him taking more risks and experimenting with viral challenges, making fun of other YouTubers, and reviewing meme submissions from his fans.

January 2016: PewDiePie Announces Revelmode Partnership with Maker Studios

In January 2016, Felix Kjellberg, PewDiePie, announced a partnership with Maker Studios to create Revelmode, a sub-network featuring Kjellberg and his YouTube friends in original series. Eight other YouTubers, including CinnamonToastKen and Jacksepticeye, joined the network upon its creation.

February 2016: Charity drive for Charity: Water

In February 2016, Kjellberg organized another charity drive for Charity: Water, raising $152,239, surpassing a $100,000 goal.

September 2016: Release of PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator

On 29 September 2016, Kjellberg released another game developed by Outerminds, PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator. It was released as a free app on iOS and Android devices and quickly reached the number one spot on the App Store.

December 2016: Highest-Earning YouTuber

In December 2016, Forbes named Kjellberg the highest-earning YouTuber, with an annual income of $15 million. This was largely due to his YouTube Red series Scare PewDiePie and his book This Book Loves You.

December 2016: Cringemas livestream for RED

In December 2016, Kjellberg hosted Cringemas, a two-day livestream with other Revelmode creators, raising over $1.3 million for RED to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa.

December 2016: Stylistic changes in content

In December 2016, Patricia Hernandez from Kotaku noted that PewDiePie was distancing himself from his famous Let's Play videos, focusing instead on more experimental content reflecting existential angst related to content creation.

December 2016: Frustration with YouTube's Subscriber and View Issues and Milestone Threat

In December 2016, PewDiePie uploaded a video discussing his frustration with YouTube accounts experiencing subscriber and view losses. He threatened to delete his channel upon reaching 50 million subscribers, a milestone he achieved on December 8th. He received a custom Play Button from YouTube, but ultimately deleted a smaller channel instead, with his threat possibly a promotional stunt for Scare PewDiePie.

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2016: PewDiePie Recognized as Influential Figure

In 2016, PewDiePie was described as YouTube's greatest success by Douglas Holt of Harvard Business Review. Lev Grossman of Time wrote that Kjellberg dominated an entire medium single-handed and pioneered a new form of fame.

2016: Shift in Video Style and Reflection on Past Content

Throughout 2016, PewDiePie's video style shifted away from horror game Let's Plays to a drier humor. He also reflected on his older content, expressing regret for his casual use of derogatory terms.

February 2017: End of PewDiePie's Reign as Most-Viewed Channel

In February 2017, PewDiePie's channel ceased to be the most-viewed on YouTube, ending a period that began in December 2014.

March 2017: Comments on daily content creation challenges

In March 2017, PewDiePie commented on the challenges of creating daily content, but expressed his love for the daily grind of making videos.

April 2017: Creation of Netglow and streaming on Twitch

In April 2017, Kjellberg created Netglow, a crowdsourced channel on Twitch, and started streaming Best Club, a weekly live stream show. The first stream amassed around 60,000 viewers.

October 2017: Partnership with Armin Ibrisagic for Animal Super Squad

On 31 October 2017, Armin Ibrisagic announced his partnership with Kjellberg for his video game Animal Super Squad. Kjellberg helped with the core concept of the game, provided feedback, and offered creative direction.

2017: Income drop

According to Forbes, Kjellberg's income dropped to $12 million in 2017, making him the sixth highest-paid YouTuber that year. This was attributed to the pushback from advertisers due to controversies surrounding his videos.

2017: Content described as irreverent

In 2017, Justin Charity of The Ringer characterized PewDiePie's hosting style as "loopy and irreverent in the extreme," combining elements of stand-up, shock jock, and 4chan.

2017: Clarification on Leaving Chalmers

In 2017, Kjellberg clarified that he left Chalmers University due to a lack of interest in his course of study, not solely to pursue his YouTube career.

2017: Comments on content creation

In 2017, PewDiePie commented on the nature of his content creation process, stating that it's just him, without producers or writers. In July 2017, he mentioned having an office and a limited number of employees assisting him a couple of months prior.

2017: Subscriber Growth Amidst T-Series Competition

In December 2018, PewDiePie's channel gained 6.62 million subscribers due to online campaigns to "subscribe to PewDiePie" during the competition with T-Series. This was compared to the 7 million subscribers gained in all of 2017.

September 2018: Competition with T-Series Begins

In September 2018, PewDiePie uploaded a LWIAY video discussing T-Series' YouTube channel potentially surpassing him in subscribers, initiating a competitive period.

December 2018: Subscriber growth during T-Series competition

In December 2018, PewDiePie's YouTube channel gained 6.62 million subscribers due to online campaigns to "subscribe to PewDiePie" during the competition with T-Series. The channel also earned over 500 million video views, the single-highest monthly view count at the time.

December 2018: Fundraiser for Child Rights and You (CRY)

On 3 December 2018, Kjellberg announced a fundraiser on GoFundMe for Child Rights and You (CRY) to help Indian children, and hosted a livestream, donating all proceeds to CRY, raising over $200,000.

2018: Content Format and the Introduction of Pew News

In 2018, PewDiePie's content format was compared to television programming, featuring series like You Laugh You Lose, Last Week I Asked You (LWIAY), and Meme Review. He also started Pew News, a satirical series parodying mainstream and YouTube news channels.

2018: Competition with T-Series

In late 2018, PewDiePie began a public competition with the Indian record label T-Series to retain his position as the most-subscribed channel on YouTube.

2018: Reaction content focus

Towards the end of the 2010s, in 2018, PewDiePie began to upload reaction-style content, like reaction videos of TikTok compilations.

January 2019: Partnership with G Fuel

In January 2019, PewDiePie announced a partnership with energy drink company G Fuel.

April 2019: Exclusive livestream deal with DLive

In April 2019, Kjellberg announced that he would live-stream exclusively on DLive as part of a deal with the company, shortly before ending his competition with T-Series.

July 2019: Video view surge

In July 2019, PewDiePie's YouTube channel surged in video views due to his Minecraft gameplay videos. The channel received 573 million video views, then a single-month record for the channel, and his daily number of new subscribers also grew from 25,000 to 45,000 during that month.

July 2019: Fundraiser with Jack Black for NAMI

In July 2019, PewDiePie, whose real name is Kjellberg, partnered with Jack Black to start a GoFundMe fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), following the suicide of Etika in June 2019. They streamed Minecraft together to raise money, with Kjellberg donating $10,000 and raising over $30,000 in total for NAMI.

October 2019: $69,420 donation to Team Trees

In October 2019, Kjellberg donated $69,420 to Team Trees, a fundraising drive focused on planting trees to combat deforestation. The donation amount was a comedic reference to internet culture numbers 69 and 420.

2019: Release of Pixelings and Poopdie

In 2019, Kjellberg released two more video games: PewDiePie's Pixelings on November 15 and Poopdie on December 12. The latter game was rejected from the App Store but is available on Android.

2019: PewDiePie Reflects on His Influence

In a 2019 interview with the New York Times, PewDiePie commented on his influence, expressing that he felt it was weird to be in his position and expressed feelings of nostalgia for his early YouTube career. He admitted to periodically thinking about giving up the platform altogether.

2019: Continued focus on reaction content

In early 2019, PewDiePie continued to upload reaction-style content, such as videos reacting to various compilations of TikTok videos.

2019: T-Series Overtakes PewDiePie on YouTube

In early 2019, T-Series overtook PewDiePie as the most-subscribed channel on YouTube.

2019: T-Series Surpasses PewDiePie and Diss Track Release

On March 27, 2019, T-Series surpassed PewDiePie in subscribers. On March 31, he released a diss track titled "Congratulations", sarcastically congratulating T-Series. The video led to him temporarily regaining the top position.

June 2020: Fundraising for Black Lives Matter

In early June 2020, Kjellberg raised over $116,000 for the Sentencing Project, victims of police brutality, and small businesses impacted by Black Lives Matter demonstrations and riots following the death of George Floyd.

November 2020: Reflection on YouTube Career and Shift to Unstructured Content

In November 2020, PewDiePie reflected on his YouTube career in a Q&A video, stating he felt "retired" from YouTube. He committed to posting more unstructured content, like vlogs.

2020: Signing exclusive streaming deal with YouTube

In 2020, Kjellberg signed a deal to stream exclusively on YouTube. Although he had amassed over 800,000 followers on DLive, his affiliation with the platform became unclear after not streaming there for four months.

2020: Brief YouTube Break and COVID-19 Jokes Controversy

Near the end of 2019, PewDiePie announced a break from YouTube, which lasted a little over a month into early 2020. Upon his return, he made jokes about the COVID-19 pandemic and spoke in mock-Chinese phrases, leading to criticism. He defended his jokes in a subsequent video.

2020: PewDiePie's Popularity Despite Controversies

Shortly prior to his 2020 hiatus, Erin Nyren of Variety commented that PewDiePie's "popularity continues unabated in spite of—or perhaps because of—the fact that he has been the subject of ongoing controversies."

January 2021: Distribution deal with Jellysmack

In January 2021, Kjellberg signed a distribution deal with Jellysmack, where the company would optimize and distribute his content for a Facebook Watch audience, while Kjellberg would still debut content on YouTube.

2021: Raised over $1 million for charities

By 2021, Kjellberg had raised over $1 million for various charities through his YouTube membership donations. Charities included Red Nose Day, Movember, Papyrus, Blue Ocean Foundation, Save the Children Lebanon, and Winston's Wish.

March 2023: Twitch account activity resumes with Trailer Park Boys episodes

In March 2023, Kjellberg's "PewDiePie" Twitch account began streaming episodes of the Canadian sitcom Trailer Park Boys, after years of inactivity. This was part of a test by CoPilot Media.

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