Who runs YouTube? Games.
YouTube star PewDiePie, a.k.a. Felix Kjellberg, got some old-media love Wednesday, appearing on the cover of Variety's July 22 issue. The 25-year-old Swede is ranked at the top of the magazine's Famechangers series, which highlights 12 rising digital influencers.
I'm on the cover of @Variety and the world still hasn't ended! Check it out: http://t.co/GzCpV1kfbf#famechangers pic.twitter.com/cVnVuRAb4T— Felix Kjellberg (@pewdiepie) July 22, 2015
PewDiePie got his start five years ago, when he started making funny videos of himself playing games. He was an early figure in the now popular "Let's Play" YouTube genre. Now his videos average him more than 300 million views a month, and he has more than 30 million YouTube subscribers eager to eat up whatever he puts out.
PewDiePie has held on to his top spot on YouTube for the last two years, boasting the most subscribers of any channel and beating out household names like Taylor Swift and Rihanna. His fame, of course, has drawn some ire, especially after a Swedish paper reported he made $7.4 million in 2014.
Other members of Variety's list include YouTube stars Vsauce, MKBHD, MyLifeAsEva and Lindsey Stirling. The list couldn't have come a more convenient time, as the biggest gathering of YouTube stars -- VidCon -- is in Anaheim, California, this weekend.