What happens when the world’s biggest YouTube star Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg tells his 48 million YouTube subscribers to download and play his new mobile game? The game promptly shoots up to the top of the App Store, and the servers crash under the load. That’s what happened, at least, following the iOS and Android launch of “PewDiePie’s Tuber Simulator,” the video star’s latest game, which parodies the life of a full-time YouTube creator.
The game was published to the App Store and Google Play on Thursday, and hit the charts hard.
It went from the #25 Overall free app on the App Store on launch day to the #2 app today. (It would be #1 if Apple didn’t insist on including its iTunes U app in the App Store charts.) The game also became the #1 free iPhone game in just 20 hours, and is the #1 free app in 10 countries. It’s also the #1 free game in 29 countries on the App Store, reports app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Such is the power of the YouTube fan base.
“Tuber Simulator” was launched via Revelmode, PewDiePie’s joint venture with Maker Studios, and published by Montreal-based Outerminds.
The game crashed shortly after launch, as the servers were overwhelmed by the demand. Users began seeing errors when they tried to set up accounts, and Outerminds has been working to resolve the issue. As of a few hours ago, the game publisher announced on Twitter it was “almost done” fixing the “Error 99” problem people were experiencing.
We are almost done fixing the Error 99 when creating your channel. Thanks for your patience.
— Outerminds (@Outerminds) September 30, 2016
Thanks for your patience guys! We are working as hard as we can to resolve all the server issues.
— Outerminds (@Outerminds) September 29, 2016
“Tuber Simulator” is similar in spirit to the “learn-to-be-famous” hit game “Kim Kardashian:Hollywood,” as it has players learning to become a YouTube star by making videos, gaining views and subscribers, and then buying equipment, furniture, clothes and more via in-app purchases, as their fame grows. However, unlike the Kardashian title, “Tuber Simulator” features 8-bit style graphics, giving the game a classic look.
“Tuber Simulator” is also backed by voiceovers from PewDiePie, and includes a minigame called Puggle.
The launch comes alongside news that PewDiePie will be teaming up with one of the designers behind “Goat Simulator,” Armin Ibrisagic, to produce multiple games in the future. Ibrisagic’s new studio, DoubleMoose, will be working with Revelmode on the future titles. According to the deal terms, Kjellberg will provide creative input on multiple games for iOS, Android and PC, but no further details were revealed.
This is not Kjellberg’s first foray into mobile gaming, however. Last year, he released “Legend of the Brofist,” which was also published by Outerminds. That title held the number one spot on the App Store for three weeks.
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