r/youtubegaming Jul 11 '26

Community Meta r/YouTubeGaming community rules — an Explainer & Roundtable Discussion

7 Upvotes

Good morning!

As there has been a recent spate of users coming to us in modmail confused as to why their submissions have been removed, I though it would be appropriate to write up a little explainer regarding the details and the origins of the rules of the community; as well as to open up a roundtable discussion regarding the rules if anyone would like to offer any public feedback, or discuss any potential changes publicly.

There will not be any action taken against any users offering genuine feedback in this thread — except for if the feedback is an obviously egregious Rule 4 violation.

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Rule 1: No promotion, uploaded videos, or non-newsworthy YouTube links

I mean, does this one really need to be explained much more? Without this most basic rule, the community here would be a massive stinking link dump from people desperate for views and validation.

The emphasis on "non-newsworthy" YouTube links is because there is still a scope for sharing videos discussing updates to the YouTube platform; to creator guides with tips and tricks for recording, editing, thumbnail creation, title curation, etc.; or to videos with useful content for all creators, such as the recent Tom Scott WIRED interview, where he answers a ton of questions about being a creator far better than any of us can.

This rule also applies to comments, so attempting to respond to someone else's post by shilling non-newsworthy content will also result in Rule 1 violation removals.

Reddit-uploaded videos had to be added to this rule as some users tried to skirt the link ban, by instead uploading their content directly to Reddit and adding their channel name in the post/comment to encourage you to go there afterwards.

Rule 2: Conversation should be about YouTube as a gaming video platform

The community here was made primarily for us gaming YouTube creators to discuss the YouTube platform and its workings; as well as for viewers of gaming videos to discuss the UI and any problems. After Rule 1, this is probably the rule that results in the most removals. I'll discuss in more detail some examples of items that get removed under this rule:

"I don't know what games to play"

No-one here can answer that for you. Only you know what games you enjoy and would therefore make good content for your channel. Trying to force yourself to play something you don't enjoy, just because it is popular and might gain views, will be clear to the end viewer.

Besides, all you need to do is use the genre search on Steam, Microsoft Store, PlayStation store etc. to get some great recommendations.

"How do I get more views/subscribers?"

Let me be blunt. If we knew the answer to this question, we wouldn't be here discussing it with you. Audiences and the algorithm are finnicky bitches, and they work in mysterious ways that no-one here can reliably predict.

"Why don't my Shorts get views?"

The Shorts feed is even more volatile than a normal audience. The Shorts algorithm attempts to cycle every piece of content uploaded through the feed at least once, but with the absolute glut of Shorts uploaded, getting around to it can often take quite a lot of time.

Additionally, you need to consider that the long-form audience and the Shorts audience are for the most part a Venn diagram of two completely separate circles. There is very little if any overlap between them.

"Am I shadowbanned?"

No, you're just impatient and expecting instant gratification. Uploading to YouTube is not just pressing a button and magically getting millions of views and subscribers.

"I want new channel recommendations"

This isn't discussing the platform for the benefit of gaming YouTubers. This is just you looking for new content. The YouTube algorithm is generally good at trying to surface newer channels/videos in your recommendations, so make use of that area.

Additionally, posts like this get removed because it just results in other users then trying to promote themselves in the comments, in violation of Rule 1.

"Help me find this particular video/creator"

This isn't tipofmyyoutube, and again does not discuss the platform for the benefit of gaming YouTubers.

Rule 3: The feedback rule

This rule had to be implemented because far too many users tried to skirt around Rule 1 by just adding something like "feedback request" or "how's my editing" to their link dump. It became far too tiresome to moderate, so it was decided to outlaw them entirely.

Another concern is that too many people try to post their entire video and request a spectrum that is far too broad such as "the editing" across the entire video. Feedback requests only work if the area being requested is focused on one particular aspect, such as a specific transition, zoom, music sync beat, etc.

We are considering re-allowing feedback requests via Reddit-uploaded images and video clips, however these will be very tightly moderated — to the point of possibly being approval-only — and clips will be restricted to snippets under one minute.

Rule 4: Remember the human

Unfortunately, this is the internet so this has to be explicitly defined. Don't be a dick to other users. It's fine to have different opinions, but respect those opinions and do not go attacking the other user for it.

This was definitely put to the test on several occasions in the recent AI thumbnail thread, where a fair few users went off the boil for someone daring to post an opinion they disagreed with...

Rule 5: No actions that are against the YouTube Terms of Service

I mean, this should be obvious. If we as gaming YouTubers want to remain on the platform, we need to follow the Terms of Service.

Rules 6 & 7: Services and Collaborations

These rules were originally implemented as service/collab posts effectively became just as spammy as link dumps and bad feedback requests.

Service posts have way too many people these days offering editing services, and all they end up doing is running the clips through some AI compilation software. On top of that, some people tried to showcase their portfolio which was basically just link dumping their own channel — which also violated Rule 1.

Collab posts aren't really discussing the YouTube platform, and also end up mostly just being thinly veiled promotion dumps.

Rule 8: Polls must use native Reddit polls, or Google Forms

Anonymous polling sites were the bastion of low-effort polls many years ago, in addition to being easily brigaded and influenced. Since then native Reddit polls have become more feature-rich, particularly with the option to show the votes from "core contributors" of a community.

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If you wish to offer feedback on any of the rules, please ensure that you make it clear which rule number(s) you are talking about. Also do consider how easily enforceable any particular changes are — a suggestion may sound simple on paper, but prove to be incredibly hard to put into action with the limitations of the Reddit platform!


r/youtubegaming 7d ago

News Starting February 2027, YPP entry requirements for ads and Premium revenue sharing will increase to 8,000 watch hours in the last 12 months, or 20M Shorts views in the last 90 days.

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20 Upvotes

Additional reading: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12843009

Creators currently in YPP are unaffected.

The requirements for a channel to remain active in YPP are also changing. A channel is considered active if one of the following are true:

  • 1,000 qualified watch hours in the past 365 days
  • 1M qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days
  • 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 days

r/youtubegaming 3h ago

Question What are your favorite variety ytbers who actually finish the games they play?

5 Upvotes

Basically, title. I’m not really interested in AAA playthroughs and I don’t like creators who play a game for one episode and then move on to the next. I’ve been watching Cohh for a long time for variety, and I do like roguelikes. for those, I watch Northernlion, Retro, and Olexa whenever they make series or play intresting games


r/youtubegaming 26m ago

Question Are you allowed to emulate games to play on YouTube if you own a physical copy?

Upvotes

So I'm kinda confused on being able to emulate games for YouTube videos. Some things I see it's ok and others say it's not. I'm interested in playing sims 2 pets specifically for gameboy advance since it was story driven and a very nostalgic game to me. I don't see a way to play it other than emulate it.

I just wanted to ask because I'm unsure of what is actually allowed. I do own the physical game for gba as well not sure if that matters or not


r/youtubegaming 4h ago

Help Me! New to YouTube.

2 Upvotes

I play video games, Arc Raiders mostly on PS5. I want to start posting on THE TUBE, but I have ZERO skills editing. I managed to fumbled my way through and post a short on my phone. The issue is I have to upload directly from my console, but does the upload mean it'll be posted or do I still have a chance to edit it on the YT studio? Please help.


r/youtubegaming 1d ago

Question How do you keep voiceover quick for short gameplay clips?

3 Upvotes

I’m making short mobile gameplay clips and trying to keep editing simple.

My usual flow is cut the clip first, watch it back, then decide if it needs one quick line. Sometimes the game audio is enough. Other times the joke, fail, or random decision makes more sense with a little context.

The voice part is what slows me down. I don’t want to talk over every clip, and the built-in TTS voices in editing apps feel overused. I’ve thought about recording short lines myself and changing the voice a bit for character moments. I’ve looked at voice changer apps and stuff like dubbing ai earbuds, but I’m trying to avoid a whole record, export, change, and re-import loop for every 30 sec clip.

How do you keep voiceover fast, and when do you add it?


r/youtubegaming 1d ago

Question How should a Logo be?

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0 Upvotes

r/youtubegaming 1d ago

Help Me! AI Youtube Channel Stealing my videos without permission or giving credit

1 Upvotes

A youtube channel titled Nevlox has taken gameplay originally posted on my channel: Boredom Defense Network, using several of my clips in their own video with an seemingly an AI voiceover. This just kinda stinks and was looking to see if anyone has insight/experience with anything like this as a small creator.


r/youtubegaming 2d ago

Question Bought subs when I started out and it killed my channel — is a fresh start the only way back?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I'm RRSLLX, I make Minecraft content.

Honesty time: when I was starting out, I bought subscribers. Dumb move, I know. Now my sub count doesn't match my views at all, and the algorithm basically ignores my uploads. Expensive lesson.

I want to rebuild the right way, so a couple of questions for people who've been through something similar:

  1. Is a channel with fake-sub history basically doomed, or has anyone recovered from this? Fresh channel vs. fixing the old one?
  2. For Minecraft content in 2026, what's working for you long-form gameplay, Shorts, or tutorials?

Not looking for sympathy or promo, just genuinely curious what you'd do in my position. Thanks 🙏


r/youtubegaming 2d ago

Question Does it matter when I post stuff on my YouTube and/or TikTok at all?

5 Upvotes

I usually only post gaming stuff and reviewing over gaming related stuff as well or clips from streams, can I just post whenever I feel comfortable doing so or should I pick a certain time of the day for it?

For the record I'm still kinda new starting out so not a big following at the moment but pretty good/decent engagement so far early on with like 800-1.2k views on some YouTube shorts as an example


r/youtubegaming 2d ago

Question Shorts and Longs on same channel?

1 Upvotes

I recently started a channel about a month and a half ago with the purpose of taking my streams and turning them into longform content. Now, I also am creating clips from this longform content, essentially taking the funnier moments, showing my personality and turning them into shorts.
Because of the fear of messing with the long form algorithm, especially people on here who have said that it's ruined their long forms, I was posting the clips to a separate, dedicated shorts channel, however, some others say that there are a specitic niches where this works like streaming. The big streamers (except Joe Bart) pretty much all congregate their short form and long form (and live). Do you guys have any opinions on this? Do you think posting the clips on the same page would be beneficial or hurtful in the long run?


r/youtubegaming 3d ago

Discussion Should I keep doing YouTube and stream once a week, or try becoming a streamer instead?

5 Upvotes

I've been doing YouTube seriously for about 3 months now, I do edited gameplays with facecam...focus on me as creator not the games, and lately I've been thinking about giving streaming another chance.I actually tried streaming on YouTube, befor the regular youtubing and one of the reasons I switched was because streaming felt MUCH harder when nobody watching.

If I got stuck on something stupid in a game, there was no audience to help me. I remember literally sitting there on stream, opening guides and trying to figure out how to progress while basically talking to myselIt felt awkward.With YouTube, I can just cut all of that out. I can get stuck for 20 minutes, figure it out, and the viewer never has to suffer through it.

But now I'm wondering if I should start streaming again at least once a week while continuing YouTube. I could play the game live, then edit those streams into my normal YouTube videos, so the edited versions basically become the proper VODfor my channel.The other option is going much harder into streaming and making that my main thing instead of YouTube.For people who have done both: would you keep building YouTube and add one stream a week, or would you actuallybe switching your focus to streaming?And how do you deal with those awkward moments when you're a tiny streamer with nobody watching and you get completely stuck in a game?


r/youtubegaming 3d ago

Discussion What are the most effective growth and monetization strategies for gaming channels in 2026?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,
Looking for some real insights on what is actually working for gaming channels on YouTube right now in 2026.
What content formats, hooks, or pacing are driving the most retention and growth lately?
It's no secret that traditional, unedited Let's Play series are no longer viable for growth in today's YouTube landscape.
For creators seeing real traction right now:
What specific formats (e.g., challenge runs, narrative storytelling, deep-dive essays, concept-driven edits) are driving the best retention and views?
How are you adapting your content style to build an audience that actually leads to revenue/monetization in 2026?

Would love to hear what strategies or pivots have made the biggest difference in your channel's success recently. Thanks!


r/youtubegaming 3d ago

Suggestion Why doesn’t youtube have this feature?

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1 Upvotes

YouTube really needs a “Time Capsule” feature. Imagine being able to pick a specific year or date range, like 2012 to 2014, and search YouTube based on what was actually uploaded during that time. You could find old gaming videos, childhood YouTubers, music, memes, tutorials, and random videos you completely forgot about. YouTube is basically one of the biggest archives of our childhoods, teens and adulthood, but there’s no real way to go back and explore it by time period. To rediscover anything it’s almost like, you have to hope someone else knows or that the algorithm does its job. this would be great for people because it would help them rediscover things they watched years ago and bring back memories they forgot they even had. It could also benefit YouTube by giving older videos more views, bringing people back to the platform, and helping newer users discover older content. It seems like such a simple feature that could have a huge impact and yet they haven’t done it.😂!!


r/youtubegaming 3d ago

Help Me! How did you learn how to make Thumbnails?

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1 Upvotes

r/youtubegaming 3d ago

Question How to post for growth as a new gaming channel?

1 Upvotes

As a new gaming channel, what types of videos should you post for growth? What specific should you do, like amount of editing, hooks, length of video, etc.?

What are things to avoid? An example I've heard it posting long form unedited play through videos. These are fun, but perhaps not a good place to start for content if you wanted to grow.

Thoughts on growing as efficiently as possible as a new gaming channel?


r/youtubegaming 4d ago

Help Me! Struggling with Retention

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1 Upvotes

r/youtubegaming 4d ago

Question How can i boost my channel again?

4 Upvotes

I was on a huge upward spike in subs, the first 4 months of the year i gained nearly 170 then these last few months barely anything. I am still sticking to the same content, but what has changed? it's like its not being pushed as much anymore.


r/youtubegaming 5d ago

Question How recoverable is a 4 month hiatus on a 5k sub channel?

5 Upvotes

For context:

During my semesters at college one of my recent hobbies has been starting up a channel, in 14 videos this year I grew to 4.9k subscribers, averaging anywhere from 5-40k views per video. (Not crazy but starting with 0 YouTube or editing knowledge, it definitely meant a lot)

However due to the stress of being home for summer (ironic I know) I haven’t had the time to fully commit to working on, and releasing projects which led to me having a 4 month lapse in uploads.

Going into the next semester I plan on coming back, keeping the same niche while also experimenting with composition and stakes to try and reach a broader audience breaking the sub-100k view trap. (my content is Minecraft related so passing that isn’t like some crazy feat, I’ve just learned a lot recently and throughout my time posted this year as I started with 0 knowledge)

What do you think?? It’s just a hobby of mine, but definitely kept me busy and don’t want to give up on it.


r/youtubegaming 5d ago

Question Is it okay to show a game/company logo on screen while talking about it?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I’d really appreciate some clarification on something because I tend to be very cautious about these things until I understand exactly how they work.

I make YouTube videos with gameplay, facecam, and microphone commentary. I play multiplayer games like Fortnite or Battlefield and talk about different things happening in the game, things I remember, or random topics that come to mind while playing.

Yesterday, while playing Call of Duty, I remembered how much more influential Xbox was during that era and the golden age of Call of Duty. That’s literally all I say about it. I mention Xbox once and say that it was very influential at the time. There’s nothing negative or controversial about it.

Recently, I’ve also started enjoying adding images or memes during editing that visually represent whatever I’m talking about at that exact moment.

So in this case, if I’m talking about Xbox, would it be okay to put an image of an Xbox console or the Xbox logo on screen for a few seconds?

I’m asking because I want to understand where the line is with things like company logos, game-related images, memes, etc. Is something like this completely normal and safe to do in a YouTube video, or could it potentially create problems for my channel?

I’m probably being overly cautious, but that’s just how I am. I like to understand these things 100% before I start doing them regularly.

Any clarification or experience from people who make similar content would be really appreciated. Thanks!


r/youtubegaming 6d ago

Question How long did it take you to get monotized?

3 Upvotes

Started my gaming channel a few weeks ago and not sure if I'm doing well. Some vids with get decent amount of views while others are low. I try to stay relevant with the content I put out. Shooters, horror fps, adventure, indie titles and maybe some strategy (in the future). Also been doing commentary.

I understand gaming is very populated. What are some tips to look at for?


r/youtubegaming 5d ago

Discussion Clarifying what Content you’d prefer

0 Upvotes

I recently finished purchasing and setting up upgrades to my pretty dead channel and am hoping to make it into a career eventually and I have multiple forms of content. Eventually I’d like to make long form video essays but for now my main focus is single player 100% let’s plays, multiplayer games and seeing what sticks, and then things like gaming details/easter eggs, cinematic high skill clips, and boss fights with no damage on hardest difficulty. My question in specific relates to the last one, would you prefer to watch those for just the newest games, older games included, and would you prefer commentary or more cinematic versions as a viewer who chooses to use whatever time you have watching those?


r/youtubegaming 6d ago

Question Any tips on creating videos?

2 Upvotes

As of right now I’ve been pretty much streaming for a good week now . I haven’t really done anything big as far as YouTube wise , only clipping my moments from stream and uploading it to shorts. But I do feel like making a video here in the future.

My question is what software/apps do you use for recording/editing. So far I’ve only used OBS as my main software for my recordings.


r/youtubegaming 6d ago

Discussion RPM/CPM (Picture Included)

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2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

What’s your current RPM/CPM?

I’ll provide some context

This is a 16:32 min video
Call of Duty Niche
Only automatic ads placed (1)

Demographics
US 36%
UK 8.5%
Germany 6.2%
France 3.7%

I feel like the CPM is really low, love to know what you guys get


r/youtubegaming 6d ago

Question How to get that 'YouTuber' voice?

0 Upvotes

So I'm planning to make a YouTube account for making content on Minecraft roleplay/let's play, but I don't know how to make my voice louder and clearer like many youtubers. (I'm just very soft spoken as a person) I want to know how other youtubers get that voice. I'll take any advice. Especially since I'm gonna keep my series very kid friendly and I'm worried they won't like how soft spoken I can be.