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Meet the guy who earns $4 million a year by playing video games

Yes, $4 million. That’s one to tell your mother.

PewDiePie / YouTube

THIS IS ONE of the latest videos posted on YouTube channel PewDiePie.

Do you find it particularly funny or compelling? No?

Well, it has been watched by more than 2.3 million people. In fact, all of the videos on the channel have been seen by millions of people.

PewDiePie is the most watched online video service on Google – beating out Miley Cyrus and other teen favourites such as One Direction.

It is manned by one Swede, 24-year-old Felix Kjellberg who features in the videos, playing and reviewing video games.

Currently, 27 million subscribers watch as he screams, makes funny noises and accents and laughs at the screen.

And, according to a profile in the Wall Street Journal, it earns him about $4 million a year.

The money comes from ad sales, of which Maker Studios, a producer of online content, takes a cut.

Despite the partnership with Maker Studios, Kjellberg’s clips are still very much homemade. But quality isn’t really the point here.

“What I and other YouTubers do is a very different thing, it’s almost like hanging around and watching your pal play games. My fans care in a different way about what they are watching,” he told the newspaper.

Want more fun facts about the young millionaire? Reportedly, he dropped out of college and sold hot dogs to get by.

And his channel was originally called PewDie – because pew is the sound of a laser gun on video games and when that happens, somebody usually dies. However, he had to add the Pie after he lost the password. Why Pie? No idea.

Here is his most popular video. Be careful, there is lots of cussing.

PewDiePie / YouTube

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    Mute John Phoenix
    Favourite John Phoenix
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    Jun 21st 2014, 8:55 AM

    Good for him.

    Begrudgers in 3, 2, 1…

    202
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jun 21st 2014, 8:58 AM

    Now if only my lads could convert their playing time…………..

    127
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    Mute Cathal Leonard
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    Jun 21st 2014, 9:02 AM

    The guy is hilarious, brilliant, fair play worth every penny. Is he available to host the late late?

    97
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    Mute Wynner
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    Jun 21st 2014, 10:19 AM

    He is hilarious I’ve been a fan since the kids showed me him on YouTube

    39
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    Mute unknown
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    Jun 21st 2014, 4:42 PM

    No his is not

    15
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    Mute DaveyB
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    Jun 21st 2014, 9:00 AM

    I fear for humanity

    55
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    Mute Shane Lennon
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    Jun 21st 2014, 12:58 PM

    He also does a lot of fundraising with charities

    24
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    Mute Startled Sapien
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    Jun 21st 2014, 2:58 PM

    Fair play to him, but good lord is he annoying. My 12 year old niece watches him and thinks he’s great. Each to their own.

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    Mute Owen Slattery
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    Jun 21st 2014, 1:19 PM

    He’s making his money by entertaining people free of charge, win win

    18
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    Mute Ciarán
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    Jun 21st 2014, 9:21 AM

    Begrudger incoming. I don’t know that its entirely healthy for the games industry that PewDiePie and other let’s players have the power they do. Remember when the world went flappy bird crazy a while back? Almost entirely this guys fault. The game had been quietly on the market for months, he makes a video and it’s an international fad.

    Its also worth remembering that while undoubtedly his input is important, his money is largely gained off of the back of other peoples creative works. This is fine for the Indies who benefit greatly in terms of sales as a result of the increased awareness. However that causal sale relationship is nowhere near as clear for bigger budget games and there is some evidence to suggest that he and other let’s players even harm sales as people will watch play through rather than purchase the game… Especially problematic apparently in the case of DLC

    16
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    Mute Startled Sapien
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    Jun 21st 2014, 3:00 PM

    Then the industry needs to move forward. Not the “Let’s players” fault.

    5
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    Mute Paudi Onail
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    Jun 21st 2014, 3:17 PM

    people who play games too much suffer with their health… sitting on their h*** all day doesn’t help.

    yea that guy is annoying, i mean good on him for earning that from gullibles.

    I WANNA BE A TWANGY AMERICAN! I swear theres loads of young Irish here speaking like that, hilarious really, if only they could hear themselves but they don’t cos all their friends sound the same as well.

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    Mute Ciarán
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    Jun 21st 2014, 6:36 PM

    At 4 million per annum he’s making more than ten times what any of the hundreds of artists, animators, programmers who slaved for multiple years, working excessively long hours to produce the games he talks in funny voices over. None of those people will ever see even a fraction of the proceeds of his videos, how that seem right to anybody?

    3
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    Mute Amy Wallis
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    Jun 21st 2014, 5:02 PM

    I love watching Pewdiepie. He’s basically just a comedian that you get to watch for free. He’s introduced me to lots of games that I’d never find normally, and is a nice guy. He regularly does charity fundraisers and promotes indie game producers.

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    Mute johngahan
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    Jun 21st 2014, 9:21 AM

    He’d make a great drone operator for our military superpowers.

    11
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    Mute James St John Smith
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    Jun 21st 2014, 9:59 AM

    Send him your GPS coordinates

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    Mute Davin Lynch
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    Jun 21st 2014, 1:05 PM

    There is plenty others earning near the same,peak times on twitch see massive donations.

    8
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