Streamers Who Created Games Of Their Own

Any good streamer knows a lot about video games, but not many of them have what it takes to create a game of their own. From art design to programming and from marketing to maintenance, so much more goes into video game development than most people realize. Despite the challenges that come with making a game, more than a handful of streamers have decided to throw their hat into the ring with varying degrees of success.

There are some streamers who have partnered with pre-existing development studios to get their game off the ground as quickly as possible, and there are some indie game developers who've started streaming their creation process so fans can get in on the fun. Then, there are some streamers who dove in too fast and realized they were out of their depth. The video game industry is littered with amazing success stories and informative failures, but these are the stories of streamers who got into the business for themselves.

Some streamers developed games that we can only hope we'll be lucky enough to get to play. Reckful's death shocked the gaming community in 2020. It was another sad event to add to the pile that year. For a long time Reckful had been a popular streamer, mostly playing games like "World of Warcraft," and as much as fans enjoyed watching him play games, they were even more excited to play a game that he'd designed himself. Prior to his death, Reckful was working on his very own MMO. Called, "Everland," the game promised to be a relaxing experience geared toward social gamers. "Everland" would be a place where friends could gather and hang out while exploring a beautiful top-down 2D environment filled with a huge variety of activities, and locations to discover.

Reckful had the help of a dedicated team while working on the game, so there's a chance that someday his fans will still be able to explore the world of "Everland." Unfortunately, the path to finishing Reckful's MMO isn't going to be straightforward. The development team announced that it still intends to finish the game, but for the moment, it's unable to continue working on it. At the time of his death, Reckful maintained full legal rights to the game, meaning that until a probate court can sort out Reckful's assets, development has to be put on hold.

Video games aren't just fun, they're also important cultural objects, and some streamers are keenly aware of how much a game can influence its fans. That's why Loriipop, one of New Zealand's top streamers, has decided to create a video game company of her very own (via Gameshub). Loriipop sees a real opportunity for change in the industry. "There's a real lack of minority groups in games, like women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community – and that's something I really want to change," she said. Her pre-existing platform and connections from being a professional streamer put her in a unique position to really lead a charge for more inclusivity in gaming.

Loriipop's company is called Chromatic Pie and rather than chasing the next big trend, its mission is to create games that anyone can pick up and enjoy. "We're working hard to ensure our games will be as accessible as possible, within our limitations ... Games are for everyone," the company wrote. Chromatic Pie's first game will be a 2D platformer that is heavily inspired by games like "Rayman" and "Crash Bandicoot." According to the company, the game is currently scheduled to be released in early 2023.

"Farming Simulator" may be an official esport, but it doesn't satisfy the same competitive itch as most first-person shooters. For a farming game that can also get your blood pumping, look no further than "Shotgun Farmers." Released in 2019, the game is a multiplayer shooter where all the weapons grow on the farm. Every gun fires fruits and vegetables, and every missed shot becomes a planted seed that matures into a whole new weapon. The streamer behind this inventive game is QaziTV, and his channel is a fantastic resource for would-be game developers everywhere.

QaziTV has been documenting his work as a video game developer for years. His earliest YouTube videos show his progress on a game called "Skyhook." Now that he's working on keeping "Shotgun Farmers" updated, his channel gives some insight into the post-release period of video game development, which makes it a unique place for people to learn more about the art and business of video games. In addition to keeping his YouTube channel up to date, QaziTV also does much of his development work live on Twitch, so fans can get a truly up close look at what it takes to make a hit game.

There's often an imagined divide between AAA and indie developers, but the two groups actually have quite a bit of overlap. Jitspoe is a Twitch streamer who's worked on truly massive games like "Farcry 3" and "Farcry 4," but who's now gone into business for himself as an indie developer. Five days a week Jitspoe is streaming his work on his current project "Fist of the Forgotten." Fans watch him test run new features and game mechanics while pausing the game to make adjustments to its code in real time.

Jitspoe's game is a side-scrolling adventure with some surface level similarities to Playdead's classic "Limbo." Unlike that puzzle-focused game, "Fist of the Forgotten" is all about mobility and combat. Players explore a futuristic machine world populated by hostile robots. By running, jumping, and punching players can upgrade their character, unlock the world's secrets, and achieve multiple endings. The game is scheduled to release "When it's done," but until then fans can watch Jitspoe's progress on Twitch and possibly even suggest features and changes to him as he works. 

It turns out that being good at video games has very little to do with being good at making video games. The members of FaZe Clan learned that lesson the hard way when they took on a development project that crashed, burned, and caused outrage among their fans. FaZe Clan first announced that it was partnering with iCazual Entertainment on a new FPS back in January 2015 (via Kotaku). The game, called "Starnet Eclipse," was supposed to be a sci-fi shooter running on the Unreal Engine that could rival even AAA franchises like "Call of Duty." Fans were thrilled by the idea and donated $20,000 to the project.

"Starnet Eclipse" had its release scheduled for sometime in 2016, but after the alpha and then the beta test were delayed, fans started to get concerned. Though FaZe Clan and iCazual Entertainment did their best to dissuade fan concerns, by mid-2016 they were offering refunds for everyone who had contributed to the game. The game's official Twitter page is still live, but it hasn't been updated since December 2016, and the official website is down. FaZe Clan recovered from the scandal, but iCazual Entertainment never worked on another game.

PewDiePie has long been one of the biggest streamers in the world, so maybe it's not that surprising that he's found the time to help create a game or two. Back in 2016 "PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator" made its way onto mobile devices and received mixed reviews from fans and critics. The game features voice acting work from PewDiePie himself, and it lets players take on the role of a famous YouTuber, creating content to gain subscribers, build their channel, and trick out their bedroom.

PewDiePie also worked on a mobile game that caught some flak from Apple back in 2019. A top-down adventure game, "Poopdie" has players take control of a pooping worm, and it was almost immediately banned from the App Store for "crude imagery and sound effect which may disgust users" (via Polygon). PewDiePie and Apple eventually managed to settle their differences, and since then "Poopdie" has also made its way to the Nintendo Switch. The streamer hasn't released a game in the past several years, but he's kept plenty busy getting married and moving to Japan.