Video Game YouTuber Dunkey Launches His Own Indie Publishing Company

Dunkey only does bangers, so I can only expect bangers from Dunkey's publishing company in the same caliber as Super Mario Bros 2

Can't say I really care for Dunkey to be honest. Not after the stuff with Xenoblade 3. Hopefully this publishing company will make it easier to find good indie titles though, since the indie industry is full of games that are legit just filler titles.

This was a completely left-field announcement but I am all for it. More games like Knack 2 coming our way baybeee!

@VoidofLight What was the whole drama with that anyway? I heard that he posted spoilers or something on Twitter? I personally thought his video on the game was hilarious

Bangers confirmed

Finally, the first strand-type publishing company.

Knack 3!? …or will it be 4?

Cool I guess, I hope he can be successful bringing good indie games to gamers 😃

@StarPoint His videos usually contain spoilers, don't watch it until after you finished the game in question. His video usually really funny though lol.

I'm wondering what the overlap of being a YouTube reviewer a day publisher is.

Being good at having video game opinions seems to be low on the list of most publishers' qualities, tho, so I hope this is massively successful.

@StarPoint I haven't seen his Xenoblade 3 video, but from what I heard, he trashed the game and then posted endgame spoilers on Twitter to rile up fans. He's incredibly hostile towards JRPG fans, Xenoblade fans in particular. He has a history of making games he doesn't like look as bad as possible and attacking anyone who disagrees with him, and Xenoblade 2 was one of the biggest examples of those, so I figured he'd do the same with 3.

Speaking of which, he comes off as super hostile in this announcement video by specifically targeting games from small indie devs, so that's a fantastic sign for this company.

Take away the wacky zany clown voice and beaten to death memes and what even is this guy? Has he actually said anything insightful that hasn’t already been said by dozens of other Youtubers who don’t rely on his gimmicks?

@StarPoint Spread spoilers and his fans went and raided Xenoblade community servers and posted those spoilers there.

the first video game company to be run by a 13 year old! that must be a guiness world record for sure

I kinda fell off from his content after the KH3 vid and everyone just parroting his opinions left and right. On topic this announcement comes off a tad egotistical and doesn’t really aspire much confidence.

So why would an indie developer go with this guy instead of, say, Devolver Digital?

If I were a passionate video game developer, I probably would not contact Bigmode. Chances are, you would receive nothing but hate from Dunkey, if he does not like one aspect of the game.

I love nothing more than self important youtubers who think they know how to make videogames just because they played them.

Given how hostile this guy is toward anyone who doesn't agree with him, and how he claimed he made a bunch of indie games famous, and how he slapped his logo on some other games as if he had anything to do with it.... I'm worried. Imagine spending years making your passion game only to have it labeled as "The Dunkey Game"

From what I've seen of the guy, he's always struck me as a living caricature of the kinds of stereotypes that make me cringe at the word gamer. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have another indie publisher that's focused on quality over quantity, so hopefully this is the start of him actually contributing something worthwhile to the games industry.

one thing i cant doubt is this guys passion for games, he plays a wide pool and still gives genres he doesnt like a shake. how that plays into running a publishing company we'll have to wait and see

Isn’t this the guy that reviews jrpgs even though he made it clear he hates them? Also why would you review something you made it clear multiple times that you despise?
And considering the fact he posted spoilers to the ending of XC3 just to make people mad I won’t be surprised if this fails. 😑

@strollin_stu nah mate

@SalvorHardin
That would count for a lot of Youtubers then though. How many people have said the same things about Zelda? And yet there continue to exist hour-long videos.

To me it is clear that Dunkey has a lot of passion for video games and he definitely knows what he is talking about. His videos obviously focus more on entertainment but I am sure that he can give serious opinions on wether or not a game has the right amount of quality put into it.

Did Dunkey claim credit for making certain indie games popular elsewhere? Because if not I find it absolutely incredible that so many people are saying that’s what he did just because of that portion of the video. Clearly he was just saying he brought a lot of additional exposure to those games, which he did. Not that he single-handedly made them popular.

Also if one of the worst things people can point to him doing is ragging on Xenoblade and posting some spoilers then lol. OK. Yeah, terrible person. 🙄

Lack of experience in anything related to making games or marketing anything and shooting down all criticism with "it's just a joke" is hell of a combination. I feel sorry for young devs that will fall for that.

@ReaperMelia I missed the Xenoblade 3 drama, but I found his Xenoblade 2 video very funny. His criticisms were exaggerated but not unfair.

@PrinsPaddestoel But what about him calling XC2 a cash grab in his Best of 2021 video while in the very same video praising Mario Golf Super Rushed?
I mean its ok if he liked Mario Golf but how exactly is XC2 a cash grab?

I commend him for trying something as ambitious as opening up a game studio but something tells me that he'll slowly start to realize the struggles that the game industry brings. I wonder, will he be a devolver digital? Or will he wind up becoming that which he has always fought against? I will watch how this progresses with great interest.

I don't know the person but this is just laughable, the whole business concept is a joke.

I still think this is a joke, all dunky does are jokes. I think this is a commentary on how flooded the Indy market is with crap. Also the lack of Nintendo or equivalent seal of approval.

@mariomaster96 Didn't see that video and can't watch it right now. Of course Nintendo OKed Xenoblade 2 because they thought it would make them money, but the game was clearly made with love — it's not a cynical designed-by-committee cash grab.

Everytime a creator that I like is mentioned in a nintendolife article I scroll to the comments to see what people think about that person and man it is always overwhelmingly negative. Like I don't know what it is about you guys but some here seem to really like taking people down in order to feel better about themselves. Not to say there is nothing to criticise about dunkey but some of you are acting like he is satans spawn for wanting to support smaller indie creators.

The guy is a genius - his videos are so smart

people people people!!! He KNOWS VIDEYA GAMEZ!!! ZOMG!!
dude is just trying to exploit humans with great skill and get on a new cash grab train.. guy sounds like the next tommy tallarico..

Colour me intrigued. I'm a big fan of Dunkey as a creator so seeing him take up a publishing duty is very interesting. His thought process may be a bit naive for this point but hey: I wish him all the best regardless!

@ZZalapski because Devolver reject them? Because this company might be a better fit for what they want to do? Because this company gives the creators more freedom?
There are tons of reasons of why developers choose publishers. This one is still unproven. But to say that just any developer can go get a publisher like Deveolver is pretty ignorant.

I don't see this venture being successful. As others have pointed out, many indie devs aren't going to want their projects overshadowed and simply known as "that game Dunkey published".

Much like Zero Punctuation, I go to Dunkey's channel for a laugh or two - certainly not for actual reviews or any kind of serious take. He's just another highly opinionated Internet guy who happens to be funny, so the image he has of himself as some champion for "good games" feels very much inflated to me.

Not really expecting much from this initiative.

"I've been on YouTube for 11 years now, and one of the core themes of my channel has always been to slam dunk soulless cash grabs into the garbage can and lift up and praise the truly inspired works of art in this medium."

Bernstein and Woodward have nothing on this chad and his contribution to society.

Does he really think publishers don’t try to not publish bad games?

I like Dunkey and some of his content he puts up every now and then but this whole sales pitch came off pretty egotistical. Not a great first impression but hopefully something good can come from this publishing label.

It's amazing how many people don't like Dunkey just because he made fun of their favourite game.

Personally, I have a lot of respect for him. When he's serious and when he's joking around, he's never afraid to say what he really thinks about a game. Which isn't the impression I get from larger gaming news/review outlets like IGN, Eurogamer and Nintendolife. And get this, I still think this even though he made fun of my favourite game.

This announcement does strike me as a bit odd though. Why announce a publishing company if you don't yet have any games to publish?

Oh he's the guy with the funny voice, right?

Lol tbh I think Dunky is funny and I tend to like a bunch of his vids. Thats saying something because i generally dont like any youtubers. He's okay. I'm also not SUPER into the writing in a lot of rpgs or into strand type games lol I think it's funny how many ppl mad at him about it tho.

Good luck to him, I guess. It's an undertaking and finicial risk I'm sure.

Mixed feelings on this. I quite enjoy Dunkey's videos, even when I disagree with his opinions. I think his subversive / parody videos (like the "What a DISGRACE" video poking fun at the Smash community seemingly never being satisfied with new character announcements) are solid.

BUT being a Publisher can be a pretty involved process, and "I've played a lot of video games" obviously isn't the only qualification. And while I find him funny and entertaining, I don't place very much weight on his opinions because they often don't align with my own.

I don’t even think he’s that funny, but this is really cool

Never heard of him, but if he does physicals at a respectable price I'm all up for it.

Suddenly the whole comment section knows how to run a publishing company.

I like dunkey himself, but I hate his fans. This company might end up being good but idk

I can't wait to see what Big Mode publishes, cos it's hard to get excited without that sort of knowledge. At the very least, I'm happy to see Dunkey starting his own company. Most YouTubers I see try to stick to making videos, but I never really hear of them starting their own business, except for maybe Top of the Morning coffee. Here's hoping his business is a success, cos that could potentially mean more awesome games to play.

I think Dunkey is funny but I'm not a fan of his editing style where he will deliberately misrepresent the product he's talking about to make fun of it.

When these content creators will learn that a food critic trying to become a chef almost never works?

A big reason why Doug Walker/Nostalgia Critic got so much hate in recent years is that he tried to become a filmmaker instead of just being a film critic, making his video reviews full of sketches that are worse than the movies he bashes.

@victordamazio That analogy doesn't really track. It's more like if he was a food critic and then opened a restaurant. He is only publishing, not creating games.

Only thing I know about Dunkey is that, like all popular media, he has the worst fans.

All the Xenoblade fans are in the comments rn lol

@ReaperMelia he clearly liked the game...

@Ensemen And a good restaurant owner should know how to pick and manage his cooks and staff.

Never heard of this guy. but if he's for more quality and less shovelware etc. I'm for it.

I’ve been a fan for years, so it’s kinda sad seeing Dunkey buy into his own hype. He mentions Celeste, Undertale, and Hollow Knight as signs of his trustworthiness as a reviewer. These were all once-in-a-decade games that were universally praised by major gaming publications, but sure, Dunkey is the one who made them successful.

I watch nearly all Dunkey videos because he’s funny, not because he’s a particularly insightful reviewer. He’s one voice among many. And even if he was the best reviewer of all time, it wouldn’t mean he knows how to run a publishing company.

I don’t wish him ill, but this seems more likely to blow up in his face than not. Watching the announcement, I could only think of the inevitable “The Rise and Fall of Dunkey” video that will come in a couple years.

Keep saying it.

@ZZalapski One big reason a developer would go to Dunkey is because he's got a massive online following. His videos get millions of views, sometimes within hours.
And if he is publishing a game, clearly he will help promote it and help it sell well.

hes right about xenoblade btw

@Preposterous And what makes you think he cannot do that? Why not just let him try I don't understand the apparent disdain for someone who is trying to support indie game developers.

I respect the passion and entrepreneurship. Good luck to him.

A word of caution though... even if every publisher only published the most amazing games of the highest quality. You still only get one game at the top of the chart. Sadly it's not enough just to have the ethos.

I think some of the people complaining about his content are completely missing the point of what he does. He makes different kinds of videos that not everyone seems to pick up on. Basically, if a game doesn’t have “dunkview” in the title, it is not an actual review or evaluation of the game in question (like his Metroid Dread video). Many of his dunkviews are honestly really good and show that he does have knowledge on gaming. Taking any of his other videos seriously is just asking to rage baited, ESPECIALLY his JRPG videos. Exaggeration is the name of his game, and as someone who has been watching his videos for a very long time, you kind of just have to pay attention to what his real opinions are in between all of the jokes.

Also, while there’s no guarantee that his company will succeed, there’s no guarantee that it will fail either. Starting a company isn’t something you just do without thinking about it. I’m sure he and his wife have been planning this for quite a while now, so I’m optimistic for Bigmode.

Knowing what good games are doesn't mean you have the credentials to be a video game publisher. Plus why would any developer want to associate with a publisher that is calling other Indie games "trash", etc?

@Ensemen The funny thing is he could have supported indie creators without launching a publishing company. He could have joined an existing company and give them money, he could have tried becoming a producer and there's a number of other options where he would have supported others while gainining experience from people who actually do these things for a living. Instead he chose the path of a publisher without having anything to show for it, because this way his name will be on the forefront from the get go.
Dunkey's fanbase is really making this situation much uglier than it has to be.

@StarPoint Dunkey posted one spoiler on Twitter for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and that started the drama but he deleted the screenshot not too long afterwards. His tweet was enough to enrage Twitter but just know his actual video itself on Xenoblade Chronicles 3 wasn't even hateful in the slightest and yeah there were spoilers but they were pretty much all out of context moments, harmless, and most of the clips in his XC3 video just felt like funny moments. He also poked fun at some things in the game like for example, during the first fourty seconds of his video you hear Noah say a long voiceline after picking up items (I think it's "I got a rare one right here" or something along these lines) and Dunkey edited the clips together in a way that you hear those lines over and over again, probably because people who played the game may have gotten annoyed by it being said so much I'm guessing, but it's clearly edited a lot, and not with bad intentions. As I mentioned earlier it's not a negative video and it's definitely not a hateful one, but I feel a lot of people just don't understand videogamedunkey. Yeah he can be serious sometimes but he's mostly always been more sarcastic and he exaggerates details in a lot of his videos (for example his Metroid Dread video has him exaggerating a lot of details and overall being non-serious throughout the majority of the video, plus in one of his much later videos he says he likes the game) but overall with Dunkey's video, just know his videos aren't always serious ones, they're more for entertainment above all else.

EDIT: I am so so sorry, I didn't see how much I had written as a reply to you until I actually sent my reply and because of this I am super sorry.

@VoidofLight I didn't watch his Xenoblade Chronicles 3 video, because my backlog is too big for me to even show interest in the game. However his Xenoblade Chronicles 2 video inspired me to go buy it immediately and I loved it. He even said in a different video, a critic's value isn't in holding the correct opinions, but being consistent. He is consistent. I didn't watch his video on Octopath Traveler, because I didn't want to see a negative opinion on it before I bought it. Well, I should have watched it, because I ended up hating that game. He bashed two different, highly loved RPGS, for different reasons. I agreed with points in both videos, ended up buying and loving one, hated and wished I hadn't bought the other.

@ArcticEcho I mean, I don't hate the guy for not enjoying JRPGs. It's moreso that his audience spoiled others for no reason, and he posted a big spoiler for XC3 on Twitter. There's saying you don't like something and making jokes about it, and then spoiling people and ruining the experience for those who want to just play the game without knowing much.

@Jayesbe No problem, I prefer thought out replies! I agree, though, I feel like a lot of people will actually take offense to Dunkey’s videos even though they’re clearly meant to be satire. Like you said, his Metroid Dread video is a perfect example of it. He genuinely praises the game in a lot of areas and criticizes it sarcastically. People just decided to take a lot of offense to it and the XC3 video, which if you don’t understand who Dunkey is I can see why.

But I’m just gonna keep enjoying his videos and seeing them for what they are: comedy videos

@StarPoint Yeah, I know his stuff is comedy, and again, even if he really doesn't like Xenoblade I can respect that. It's just spoiling people that's my biggest issue. Purposefully ruining the experience of others just because you don't like it. I used to watch this dude called "TheBitBlock", and he spoiled Luigi's Mansion 3 right before it released because he hated it, and didn't like the direction the series was going in. That moment made me lose all respect for the guy, since I wanted to actually play the game without knowing everything about it at the time.

@VoidofLight You can't be on social media and not expect someone to spoil something, it's just how it is.

@VoidofLight I definitely understand that. I would not want a game like that to be spoiled for me if I was into the series. But people make mistakes and I think he realized he did too, since he deleted the Tweet eventually. But I completely see where you’re coming from though.

@ArcticEcho But to intentionally do it is a jerk move.

I don't think people realize that Dunkey doesn't "despise" RPGs. He really enjoyed Persona 5, Undertale, Deltarune, and Dragon Quest XI. He is just very picky when it comes to them. It's mostly his garbage fanbase who harasses people who like them. I still really enjoy his videos, even when he makes fun of games I like.

It is very common for Dunkey to spoil video games his Xenoblade 3 video is nothing new. I haven’t watched the video yet because I was concerned about spoilers so I cannot comment about it’s content but Dunkey most likely meant no harm from his video and I am really happy he is in investing in the indy community

Xenoblade fans out for blood in this comment section lmao. Wishing that somebody's company doesn't do well cause of a video game spoil is pretty pathetic.

Alexa, show me "Delusions of grandeur".

@ReaperMelia, wow. That’s sad.

We already have Devolver so I don't see the point in this dude doing anything

He literally listed out indie games that have great success even without his companies so what the point of choosing his companies over other publishers?

@Slinkoy1 Wasn't dunky threatened to gun down a kid because of an LoL match? I guess that's fine in your book then

Dude is trying way too hard in his advertising. When you have insist that hard that no garbage is in your service, you're hiding something.

@PtM Oh, thanks for clearing that up.

@Jamies i never said that was fine...? I was just talking about people being mad over spoilers. The entire gunning down kid in LoL is in no universe okay.

Many people here seem to be lost on his comedy.
I mean, I didn't watch xeno 3 video because I know he will spoil, but still... Everyone knows he hates JRPG, he clearly only plays them to make videos for the lols. Sometimes he does have valid criticism to them, but mostly he is just bashing for fun. Of course he understands that xeno 2 was not a cash grab, nobody with half a brain would think that, that was a joke like 99% of his content. I believe the only seriousish videos are the dunkviews and even so not so sure. For instance he reviewed both let's go eevee and pikachu in separate videos and gave opposite notes just because as if they were completely different games.

Said that, the spoiler on twitter was a d*** move, not gonna lie.

@turntSNACO I think the point of that section wasn’t that he was the reason those games became popular, but that those were legitimately good games that he highlighted.
I think his campaign is good where he says he understands the gaming medium pretty well so he’d be able to see which games would be worth publishing, but then again he has no experience with publishing. But people forget that he can still learn how to do it.
And I think bigmode probably will hurt a lot since deserved or not, he is widely hated on twitter which will probably lead to a bunch of weirdos boycotting him and his games.
I’m predicting he’s gonna produce 2 or 3 good games and one masterpiece, then quit.