Where most gaming accounts are crass, DanTDM is PG-rated. And this is where DanTDM comes in.īetter yet, his content is unlike that of any other gaming-themed YouTuber. And in 2019, a film adaptation, helmed by Rob McElhenney ( It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia), is set to hit the big screen.īut despite the massive marketshare Minecraft has carved for itself, the game itself is surprisingly simple. In short, it's little more than digital Legos. You 'mine' for resources and 'craft' objects and buildings in a stylistically pixelated, block-like space. (If a video game moves 10 million units over its entire shelf life, game publishers consider that a success.) To date, Minecraft has sold more than 144 million copies, and is currently available on nearly every platform: Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo New 3DS, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and-last but certainly least-PlayStation Vita. Released in November, 2011, the game went on to sell 15 million copies over the following year.

To understand how DanTDM (and, in tandem, Middleton) became so staggeringly popular, it helps to understand the breakneck cultural ascendency of Minecraft. What's more, Middleton also embarked on a 97-stop globe-spanning tour-and it's completely sold out. It instantly stole the number-one spot on both the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists. In October, 2016, he published his first graphic novel, DanTDM: Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal. Last year, for instance, he raked in a total salary of $16.5 million according to Forbes, which makes Middleton the highest-paid YouTuber on the planet. (To put it in context, that's more than every single currently-on-air late-night host Jimmy Fallon comes closest with 15 million.) DanTDM's social media accounts are nothing to sneeze at, either: affiliated Twitter and Instagram pages both have 7-figure followings.īut Middleton, the businessman behind the moniker, is even more of a whirlwind force. Currently, DanTDM has about 3,000 videos and more than 18 million subscribers.

DanTDM-the last three letters of which are an acronym for 'TheDiamondMinecart,' a reference to Minecraft, the explosively popular video game-is the screen name of Daniel Middleton, a YouTuber from Northamptonshire, England.

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