How PewDiePie Shaped the Future: A Legacy Timeline

How the contributions of PewDiePie continue to shape the world today.

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

October 2012: Addressing Controversy over Rape Jokes

In October 2012, PewDiePie addressed criticism and controversy surrounding his use of rape jokes in his videos through a Tumblr post, stating he would no longer make such jokes and apologizing if he had hurt anyone.

September 2014: Rob Walker Comments on PewDiePie's Popularity

In September 2014, Rob Walker described PewDiePie's popularity as "insane," questioning if people would recognize him in public. He also commented positively on Kjellberg's intelligence based on his interactions with his audience.

2014: PewDiePie Expresses Discomfort with Fame

In a 2014 interview with The Wall Street Journal, PewDiePie expressed discomfort with his fame, calling his influence "kind of scary". He recalled a gaming event near his hometown where he was shocked by the overwhelming attention and security measures.

2015: Ross Miller on PewDiePie's Success

In 2015, Ross Miller of The Verge wrote that PewDiePie's success was based on connecting and talking directly to an audience. According to Miller, PewDiePie's success was in playing games but actually connecting and talking directly to an audience without any intermediaries.

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: Named One of Time's 100 Most Influential People

In 2016, Time magazine recognized PewDiePie as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

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.

2018: "A Funny Montage" Still Popular

As of 2018, publications cited the "A Funny Montage" video from June 2013 as one of PewDiePie's most-viewed videos overall, highlighting its lasting popularity.

2018: The Guardian Discusses PewDiePie's Media Coverage

In 2018, Paul MacInnes of The Guardian noted that PewDiePie's content was rarely written about in mainstream media, only breaking through as a result of novelty or scandal. MacInnes added that PewDiePie shares much of the culture of the alt-right movement and amplifies it across the world.

July 2019: Sharing about whiskey drinking habit and Buddhism

During a Cold Ones podcast interview in July 2019, Kjellberg shared that he had developed a daily whiskey-drinking habit to cope with the stress of content creation and that a book on Buddhism inspired him to quit the habit.

2019: Kevin Roose Analyzes PewDiePie's Career

In 2019, Kevin Roose of The New York Times wrote that during the period in which Kjellberg had the most-subscribed channel, he represented the values of the platform, being lo-fi, authentic, and defiantly weird.

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.

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.

2025: Tubefilter Retrospectively Describes PewDiePie's Fan Base

Writing retrospectively in 2025, about PewDiePie's fan base around 2013, Tubefilter's Sam Gutelle stated that Kjellberg's "middling" gaming skills "was part of his appeal", allowing for him to be seen by viewers as a "big brother" figure.