The Elden Ring YouTube launch far exceeded what Google expected from its video platform. YouTube shared some of its stats on the YouTube Gaming Twitter page, aptly titled “How Elden Ring took over YouTube,” with a list of launch view comparisons to other popular games, alongside stats showing which bosses and classes people tended to upload the most videos about in the hit open-world game. And yes, the most popular bosses are probably the ones you’re thinking they are.
The big number is the total launch views. YouTube says Elden Ring was responsible for a staggering 3.4 billion views in 60 days. That’s nearly double the views GTA V generated in the same time period following its launch (1.98 billion).
Other popular launches YouTube tracked include Super Mario Odyssey (828 million views) and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (638 million). Skyrim only garnered 456 million, though considering the very first of its many releases happened on the cusp of streaming’s massive growth, that’s perhaps not too surprising.
Samurai was the most popular class people uploaded videos about in that same period, closely followed by Hero and Wretch, with a slight drop off for Astrologer.
And finally are the bosses. Malenia was only the second most common boss streamers uploaded videos about, with substantially more videos about Margit the Fell Omen, the first major scripted boss you encounter in The Lands Between, assuming you follow the path the game sets for you.
We’re a PC site that reports on video games and gave Elden Ring a 10, so of course it’s no surprise to us that Elden Ring was popular. What is surprising is just how popular it was with what looks like a broader range of people, which is a substantial development for a studio like FromSoft that (typically) has a comparatively small, loyal fan base. It’s telling that From’s other games, including the much-anticipated Demon’s Souls remake for PlayStation 5, were nowhere near the top five.
Whether it’s the power of George Martin’s name attached to the game or simply word of mouth marketing doing its job, Elden Ring certainly made history for YouTube. Check out the stats for yourself on YouTube Gaming’s Twitter page.
If you’re still bouncing around The Lands Between or are checking it out for the first time, our guides for map fragment locations and where to find every dungeon should help make the journey a bit easier. And if not, there’s no shortage of Elden Ring mods to lend an even bigger helping hand.