Gamers start petition to ban PewDiePie from Apex Legends

Olivia Richman Published 24/02/2019

Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg’s Meme Review series is where memes go to die, but does the Swedish YouTuber have the power to kill games, too?

Many gamers think so, and they have created a petition to ban PewDiePie from the increasingly popular Apex Legends.

The free-to-play battle royale game was downloaded 25 million times in its first week, crushing Fortnite’s 10 million downloads record after its own launch in 2017. Some people are theorizing that gamers have shifted to Apex Legends not because of the gameplay, but because PewDiePie finally played Fortnite.

In an attempt to remain the most-subscribed YouTube channel, PewDiePie gave in to his fans’ demands and played Fortnite on a live stream. Even though the stream amassed over 6.8 million views, and gained PewDiePie over 340,000 new subscribers, it was also around the same time that Fortnite players began to shift to Apex Legends.

It’s possible that it’s just coincidence, seeing as Apex Legends was released a day after PewDiePie’s stream. But with famous Fortnite player Richard “Ninja” Blevins joining the Apex Legends free-for-all, it seems like Fortnite could well have begun to rot from PewDiePie’s poisonous touch.

By overexplaining obscure memes to “normies,” PewDiePie has killed off memes quicker than new ones can be created, single-handedly destroying the meme economy with TikTok response videos.

Gamers have begun to rise up, creating petitions to keep PewDiePie away from the promising new battle royale game.

But with T-Series still threatening to overtake PewDiePie as the most subscribed channel on YouTube, it’s hard to know what desperate measures the Swede will take to maintain his lead. Even if it means sacrificing popular games on his altar of memes.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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