PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator
By Patricia Monticello Kievlan,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun but cynical YouTuber sim; watch in-app buys, privacy.

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What you will—and won't—find in this app.
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PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator
Community Reviews
Based on 4 parent reviews
Great game.
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Can get expensive if you make in-app purchases.
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What’s It About?
PEWDIEPIE'S YOUTUBER SIMULATOR is a simulation app where users can create videos and earn views and subscribers. To create a video, you select one of three potential, randomly generated titles, including "I'm a Tree Hugger" and "Mourning My Digipet." Then choose two icons that represent a genre, such as nature or gaming. Earning views and subscribers lets you earn in-app currency, or "bux," which can be used to purchase accessories for your "room" where your avatar records videos. While you wait for your bux-purchased loot to arrive, you can play Puggle, a mini-game where you guide a cartoon pug through a pinball game. Users can also complete quests to earn brain points, which let you level up your abilities in the game, such as creating multiple videos at once. While you can play the game solo and for free, you can also connect the app to social media and your device's game center. You can also make in-app purchases to speed up your shipping and buy more bux.
Is It Any Good?
Tweens and teens will love this superficial peek into the life of a "Tuber," but be aware that it's mostly about making and spending money -- both within the game and real life. To be clear, this game is pretty appealing: It's fun and addicting to upload videos, gain subscribers, earn bux, and fill your room with increasingly cool furniture. Even the time-wasting pug pinball game is amusing while you wait for new shipments to arrive. Still, it's telling that this game is less about creating the content than it is about making money and acquiring new things. Video making is almost an afterthought: You pick from some preselected titles and earn viewers and subscribers based on the trending topics you follow and boosts you earn or buy, but that's really the only time content creation happens. In terms of gameplay, that's fine, but be prepared to feel a little cynical since it seems like being a YouTuber is more about money and influence than it is about creating high-quality content. Also, PewDiePie's trademark profanity and irreverence are on full display here throughout the in-app instructions and within the gameplay, so parents who object to that content should beware. Of course, there are ads and lots of potential in-app purchases, so set expectations about spending money accordingly.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about YouTube stars. PewDiePie is the most popular channel on YouTube with more than 40 million followers, and apps like PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator and Pewdiebot are extensions of that popularity. Learn more about YouTube stars kids love.
Talk to kids about safely using YouTube, and read our Parent's Ultimate Guide to YouTube.
Talk about what it really would be like to attempt a career as a YouTuber. How would you make decisions about what kinds of videos to make and share?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Pricing structure: Free (with optional in-app purchases from $.99 to $99.99)
- Release date: October 5, 2016
- Category: Simulation Games
- Publisher: Outerminds Inc.
- Version: 1.0.4
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.0.3 and up
- Last updated: October 18, 2019
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