Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg ( SHEL-burg; Swedish: [ˈfeːlɪks ²ɕɛlːˌbærj] ( listen); born 24 October 1989), known online as PewDiePie ( PEW-dee-py), is a Swedish YouTube personality and video game commentator, best known for his Let’s Play commentaries and vlogs.
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, PewDiePie originally pursued a degree in industrial economics and technology management at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. In 2010, during his time at the university, he registered a YouTube account under the name PewDiePie. The following year, he dropped out of Chalmers after losing interest in his degree field, much to the dismay of his parents. After failing to earn an apprenticeship with an advertising agency in Scandinavia, he then decided to focus on creating content for his YouTube channel. In order to fund his videos, PewDiePie began selling prints of his Photoshop art projects and working at a hot dog stand. PewDiePie soon gathered a rapidly increasing online following, and in July 2012, his channel surpassed one million subscribers.
On 15 August 2013, PewDiePie became the most-subscribed user on YouTube, being surpassed for a total of 46 days in late 2013 by YouTube Spotlight. Holding the position since 22 December 2013, the channel has 64 million subscribers as of July 2018. From 29 December 2014 to 14 February 2017, PewDiePie’s channel held the distinction of being the most-viewed of all time, and as of June 2018, the channel has received over 18 billion video views.PewDiePie’s most noted YouTube content includes his Let’s Play-styled video game commentaries, particularly of the horror genre. Many of his early videos consisted of him expressively reacting to the frightening elements of horror games, although he shortly broke his focus away from horror and played games of varying genres. While maintaining a focus on video game commentaries, PewDiePie began incorporating comedic vlogs into his content output with an increasing frequency. In the mid-to-late 2010s, PewDiePie began producing formatted vlogs that had a concentration on Internet culture and interactivity with his audience. His content has been praised as genuine and unfiltered, but also received as abrasive, and in some cases, met with controversy. As a result of an early 2017 controversy regarding allegations of anti-Semitism in several of PewDiePie’s videos, Maker Studios—the multi-channel network (MCN) he was signed to—ended their partnership with him, dropping him from their network. While he criticised the coverage of the situation and defended his content as jokes that were taken out of context, he conceded its offensiveness.
The prevailing nickname for PewDiePie’s fanbase is the “Bro Army”. PewDiePie has raised money for charities, encouraging his audience to donate to charity drives. Due to his popularity, PewDiePie’s coverage of indie games has created an Oprah effect, boosting sales for titles he plays. In 2016, Time named him one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People”. PewDiePie lives in Brighton with his fiancée, Italian YouTube personality Marzia Bisognin.
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