An influencer marketing campaign starts with identifying the right influencers. These will be people whose audience overlaps with your target audience. Depending on the genre of your video game, it makes sense to partner with influencers who are recognized as thought-leaders in this genre. In this article, you will discover the opportunities Minecraft YouTubers open for video game marketers. We’ll profile the top 10 Minecraft influencers with the highest number of YouTube followers.

Understanding Minecraft Audience: Who Watch Minecraft YouTubers?

With its cute, blocky graphics, Minecraft looks deceptively like a game for kids. But beneath the cute exterior is a deep crafting system that’s engaging for players of all ages. In fact, the average age of a Minecraft player is 24. That’s younger than the average 30-year-old Call of Duty player but older than the average 16-17-year-old Fortnite player.

Most importantly, Minecraft players consume a lot of content. Since 2015, Minecraft has been the #1 most-searched game on YouTube. In 2020 alone, Minecraft-related YouTube videos racked up 201 billion views making it number one watched game on the platform.

And in December 2021, Minecraft game content hit a TRILLION views on YouTube!

YouTube released a fun video to celebrate this milestone for Minecraft:

This is a prime opportunity for marketers. By partnering with Minecraft YouTubers, you’ll be exposing your game to tons of new players.

Read on to learn about the most popular Minecraft YouTubers, with a minimum of 1 million followers. We’ll discuss each of these gaming influencers’ unique quirks, as well as some brand sponsorships they have. Let’s get started!

Top 10 Most Popular Minecraft YouTubers

1. Dream

Dream is a YouTuber who has been playing Minecraft on the platform since 2014. He first came to fame by reverse-engineering PewDiePie’s starting seed. Today, he’s most popular for his Minecraft Manhunt series of videos. In these videos, he attempts to beat the game by himself, without dying, while a group of other players work together to stop him.

Dream is one of the founding members of the Dream Team survival multiplayer server. This server has since grown to include several notable YouTube stars.

2. DanTDM

DanTDM, whose real name is Daniel Middleton, was the number one Minecraft YouTuber until Dream dethroned him in August, 2021. He’s been featured in a number of other media, including a cameo in the movie Free Guy, and a role as himself in Minecraft: Story Mode.

Dan comes from the UK, and much of his channel’s appeal relies on his sense of humor. In addition to his Minecraft videos, he also plays other games, such as Subnautica Below Zero. He even has a series of comedy shorts, so there’s a good mix of content for everybody.

Some of Dan’s recent brand sponsorships include a collaboration with AFK Arena, a mobile RPG by Lilith Games who hired CloutBoost agency to help launch its influencer campaign.

3. Jelly

Jelly is the online nickname for Dutch YouTuber Jelle Van Vucht. Jelle started streaming in 2014, at the age of 17. By June of 2015, he’d gained his 1 millionth subscriber. As of September, 2021, his total subscriber count stands at more than 22 million. He’s also become an official G-Fuel partner.

Jelly is known for his bombastic style, with video titles like “I Crafted A TORNADO And TROLLED MY FRIEND!” In addition to Minecraft, he also spends a ton of time in Grand Theft Auto V. In fact, his most popular video is a modded GTA V video where he plays as a cop.

4. Preston

Preston is an American YouTuber from Dallas, Texas. His full name is Preston Blaine Arsement, and at the time of this writing, he has over 17 million subscribers. In addition to his main channel Preston runs several other channels, such as his comedy channel, Preston Shorts.

One thing that sets Preston apart is his sense of humor. He produces a lot of prank and trolling videos, which get just as much traffic as his Minecraft content. His sponsors include Lil Spooky, Elmers, Electronic Arts, Hot Pockets, Hot Wheels, and Sonic.

5. CaptainSparklez

CaptainSparklez is a 29-year-old influencer from Los Angeles. His real name is Jordan Maron, and he’s consistently ranked among the top YouTubers since he joined in 2012. In fact, he even has his own personal subreddit, where he occasionally pops in to chat with fans.

Jordan has a number of popular playlists, including Minecraft songs, animations, and Story Mode. He also has a series where he plays with the RLCraft mudpack, and he even dabbles in Grand Theft Auto V. In 2015, Jordan partnered with former Activision CEO Howard Marks to found a mobile game company. Their game, Fortress Fury, netted over 1.5 million downloads in its first month.

His recent brand campaign with Marvel was on their first-ever open-world action mobile RPG:

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTAv5OXhc5a

6. UnspeakableGaming

UnspeakableGaming is the YouTube handle for Nathan, a Texas-based YouTuber with nearly 11 million subscribers. On this channel, Nathan does Minecraft videos, and Minecraft videos only. These range from tutorials to exploration to fun challenges.

Ironically, UnspeakableGaming isn’t Nathan’s biggest channel. That honor goes to Unspeakable, where he has over 12 million subscribers. On this channel, he and his friends perform stunts and pranks, some of which are Minecraft-themed, but most of which are unrelated.

7. Aphmau

Aphmau, whose real name is Jessica Bravura, comes from Bellvue, Washington. Her style of video is more story-based, and less focused on the intricacies of the gameplay. She often includes friends and family in her videos – for example, in one of her videos, her daughter builds a “secret” base full of challenges, and Aphmau and her friends try to navigate it.

Aphmau has almost 11 million subscribers on her main channel, with smaller numbers on her alternate channels. She’s also a Twitch partner, and maintains an active presence on that platform.

8. Mumbo Jumbo

Mumbo Jumbo, or “Mumbo” for short, is the online alias of British YouTuber Oliver Brotherhood. Oli is 25 years old, and has been active on YouTube since 2012, when he was just 16.

Mumbo is mostly known for his advanced redstone builds and tutorials. He’s also highly recognizable, with a player avatar of a British gentleman with a handlebar mustache. His sponsors have included Audible and Express VPN.

9. Grian

Grian (pronounced “Gree-ann”) is another English YouTuber who actually plays on the same SMP server as Mumbo Jumbo. He’s 28 years old, and has been YouTubing since 2009. In the process, he’s amassed over 6.9 million followers.

Grian’s videos fall into two general categories. To begin with, there’s his ongoing Hermitcraft series, which features a number of other popular YouTubers. The other category consists of hundreds of advanced build tutorials. Grian is sponsored by Nvidia.

10. Forrestbono

Most of these top influencers have been around for years. By contrast, Forrestbono is an up-and-comer; he posted his first video on January 23rd, 2021. So while his total follower count of 1.1 million might not be as impressive as these other creators, he’s obtained them very quickly.

Forrestbono has produced 21 videos to date, and all of them are survival challenges. He chooses an unusual setting, such as Middle Earth or Jurassic Park. Then, he has to survive there for 100 in-game days on hardcore mode. It’s a simple formula, and it seems to be a popular one.

Conclusion

As you can see, all of these gaming influencers bring their own unique quirks and skills to the game. But one thing is true for all of them: Minecraft YouTubers have a huge, devoted audience that only seems to keep growing. This makes them excellent partners for your influencer marketing campaign.