YouTube Rewind 2018 PewDiePie | Where was he?

by Paul Cot


The hugely anticipated annual YouTube Rewind video has been released! The video commemorates the music, people, videos and moments that defined the year 2018!


YouTube Rewind Fortnite

Gamers, at least most of them, will be delighted that Fortnite played such a prominent role in the YouTube Rewind 2018 video. Ninja, who is considered to be the face of Fortnite, is heavily featured.

The cultural phenomenon has drawn in more than 125 million players. This is on top of being one of the most profitable games ever made.


Rewind 2018 Scene

The YouTube 2018 rewind starts with Will Smith, who has been a much talked about figure in 2018. He states that if he controlled Rewind that he'd want Fortnite and Marques Brownlee.

This sets up the scene of the Fortnite Battle Bus which has an array of stars on it. Ninja is driving the Battle Bus.

The stars then jump from the bus, a la Fortnite, and eventually meet around a campfire to discuss what should be included in the 2018 rendition of YouTube rewind.



YouTube Rewind PewDiePie

The topic that is dominating the rewind video is PewDiePie's exclusion.

Ninja vs PewDiePie

Ninja and PewDiePie are two of the biggest Internet stars of all time. PewDiePie has the most YouTube subscribers whilst Ninja has the most Twitch followers. Some would argue PewDiePie is actually bigger than Ninja.

Therefore, that raises the question, why is Ninja in YouTube Rewind 2018 and PewDiePie isn't? It's a fair question, which most people know the answer to.

PewDiePie Controversies

PewDiePie has had numerous controversies over the past few years. These are well documented and won't be discussed further here. It's a very divisive topic and everyone has their own opinions on it.

It is very likely because of these incidents that PewDiePie didn't feature. There is another layer to it though, whereby even if YouTube were actually big fans of PewDiePie (their actions suggest they aren't) that including him in their yearly rewind video would create negative press.

At the end of the day YouTube is a business that relies heavily on good PR. Including PewDiePie in the video invites the media to criticise the organisation. The Swedish YouTuber also didn't feature in the 2017 YouTube Rewind video.

PewDiePie Reaction

PewDiePie is rather busy in his subscriber battle with T Series. It is currently projected that PewDiePie will lose his top spot. However, high profile figures have been backing the YouTuber to try and reverse the tide.

As of writing he is 467,000 subscribers ahead!

Read More: PewDiePie vs T-Series Live Subscriber Count

However, PewDiePie did make the time to post a review for the video.

Read More: PewDiePie's reaction to the YouTube Rewind video

UPDATE: PewDiePie Easter Egg Found in Rewind Video

Some eagle-eyed watchers of the rewind video have found an easter egg in the video. At 3:11 of the video on the shelf in the scene by JaidenAnimations there is a hidden message.

There is submarine followed by a picture of two fingers being held up. Finally, to the right of that is a picture of the letter P.

"Sub to Pewdiepie" easter egg in YouTube Rewind by JaidenAnimations! (very cool jaiden) from r/PewdiepieSubmissions

JaidenAnimations essentially confirmed the easter egg which was met with approval by PewDiePie himself.