Kingdom Come Director Says YouTubers Scare Video Game Companies

Video Games

YouTubers have more power than you might think, at least if a recent report is to be believed. Dan Vávra, the writer and director of RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, appeared on a Czech podcast called Nejlepší  and talked about the impact of “hate tubers,” as he called them – though based on some things he said, I think he was quoting other people in the gaming industry more than he was saying this himself – and said that video game executives are terrified of them. He even mentioned two YouTube content creators by name: the Critical Drinker and Asmongold. He also expressed confusion over video game companies insulting their audience when they don’t like a particular game, calling the practice “unsustainable.” Here’s the full quote, translated from Czech to English via Bounding Into Comics:

“Listen, I’ve even heard that they’re [big developers/companies] really scared of ‘hatetubers’, let’s say. The kind of guys like The Critical Drinker, Asmongold and others who started criticizing big companies.”

“I thought it was so niche… Okay, he’s [Asmongold] got like a few million followers. His videos have some impact, but it’s definitely not what everybody is watching. And now, I’ve found out from some people that companies are really terrified of them and it’s really having an impact. That when somebody starts to critique the game and the corporate world, that it does have an impact.”

“And it’s unsustainable how these corporations do it. Considering that they’ve now made games that nobody wanted. And they even said it. When those gamers started complaining, that they didn’t like it and they didn’t want that kind of game, the developers started telling them that they were stupid and that it wasn’t a game for them. Which is completely bizarre, that you’re insulting your own customers.”

Before getting to the YouTubers, can anyone argue that he’s wrong about game developers insulting their customers? It’s insane, self-destructive, and born of the arrogance of believing you’re always right. Aside from the idiocy of calling your source of revenue names and turning them off of doing business with you, you’re ignoring perhaps the most useful feedback you could possibly get. The people who want to buy your games are telling you what they like and don’t like, and you’re telling them they’re wrong instead of thanking them. This is why I think these companies hate YouTubers so much: their videos give gamers dissatisfied with modern games a place to talk to each other and to hear from like-minded gamers and discover that they’re not alone. That’s what’s scary; they need their critics to think they’re outliers or in a very small minority, that they’re missing out on something they should love; when they find out that other people don’t like it either, the charade is over.

Both of the YouTubers mentioned made a video on the topic. First was Asmongold:

His basic premise is right: it’s not the YouTubers who are to blame for the gaming industry’s financial woes but the games themselves and the people who make them. If the games were better, YouTubers wouldn’t have anything negative to say about them, and gamers wouldn’t be as receptive to the “hate tubers” who mock the latest interactive debacle. But they refuse to look inward, to consider for a moment that they may be the problem, so they have to invent an external source of their trouble, something to which they can point their fingers, and they’ve settled on the Critical Drinker, Asmongold, and any other video game enthusiast with a dislike for modern games and access to a microphone and a webcam. It’s much easier than admitting you made something nobody likes and trying to learn from your mistakes.

Today, the Critical Drinker uploaded his response to the terror he strikes in the hearts of gaming executives on his Critical Gamer channel:

He makes a great point about the big outlets like IGN and Kotaku having comparatively little influence, and whose videos about games generate very few likes despite their massive subscriber counts. It’s similar to what’s going on with the mainstream media: it’s wilting like a dying flower because nobody watches it anymore, while “new media” is on the rise because that’s where people prefer to go for their news – places like Breitbart, The Daily Wire, and Red State. Even simply scrolling around X and paying attention to community notes is preferable to checking out the big networks or newspapers. And the reason is the same for regular and entertainment media: trust. Drinker is right that nobody trusts IGN or the other big guys to give their honest opinion of a game, whereas they do trust him, Asmongold, and many others. You can only kiss so much ass before people start to notice your lips are chafed. And like the game developers, entertainment media sites could learn from this and work to gain the audience’s trust back. But we all know they won’t.

Let us know what you think of YouTubers scaring video game companies in the comments!

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