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Starting a YouTube gaming channel was something I had dreamed of for years. Like many gamers, I’ve spent countless hours immersed in virtual worlds, forming digital friendships, competing, exploring, and having fun. The idea of turning that passion into something creative — and maybe even profitable — was incredibly appealing. So I gave it a shot.
Actually, I gave it two shots.
The first time was several years ago, during my off-hours from work. I uploaded a ton of videos and experimented with commentary. But nothing clicked. After about a year or so, I didn’t see any traction, so I abandoned it completely.
Then, at the beginning of 2025, life gave me a strange kind of second chance. I was laid off. Suddenly, I had time — the one resource I had previously lacked. So I dusted off the old channel, revamped the look, planned a content strategy, and dove back into the world of Let’s Plays and walkthroughs.
But after just a month, I quit again.
Here are the 7 reasons why I decided to walk away from my gaming YouTube channel — twice.
1. You Actually Have To Be Good At Games
Let’s start with the most obvious truth I had to admit to myself: I’m not great at most games. I enjoy them, sure. I’ve finished plenty of campaigns, had some decent multiplayer matches, and picked up a few achievements along the way. But to stand out on YouTube? You either need to be extremely entertaining, or extremely skilled.
I was… passable.
YouTube rewards extremes. If you’re a pro-level player who can pull off unbelievable stunts in Call of Duty, Fortnite, or Valorant, people will watch just to see what’s possible. If you’re hilariously bad in a charming or chaotic way — think rage-quits, wild voiceovers, or slapstick commentary — there’s a niche for that too.
But being average? There’s just no hook in mediocrity. My videos didn’t offer viewers anything they couldn’t get better — or funnier — somewhere else.
2. You Need A Lot Of Free Time
I underestimated how much time goes into a single gaming video. The recording, which can take an hour or more per session and rerecording due to uncontrollable circumstances like power outage, failed the mission, etc.
Even when I had more time after being laid off, I found myself drowning in the workload. The irony is that gaming started to feel like work, and not in a fun “I’m doing what I love” kind of way.
Keeping up a regular posting schedule is essential for growth on YouTube, and unless you’re doing this full-time (and already making money), it quickly becomes exhausting.
3. Games Have Incredibly Complex Learning Curves
When you’re trying to build a gaming channel, playing casually isn’t enough. You have to know a game inside and out. That means learning its mechanics, its meta, its quirks, and how to speak knowledgeably about it — especially if you’re aiming for educational or walkthrough content.
The reality? Games today are deep. They require hours (sometimes days, weeks or months) just to understand the fundamentals. I spent way too long just trying to get good enough at certain games to feel confident recording myself playing them — let alone publishing the footage.
Unless you’re hyper-focused on a single title and willing to become a near-expert, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the learning curve of modern games. And audiences can tell when you’re fumbling your way through content.
4. You Need Subscribers And Watch Hours To Even Maybe Make Money
One of the most demoralizing parts of trying to grow a YouTube channel is how long it takes to see any return — if you ever see one.
As of 2025, to join the YouTube Partner Program, which lets you earn ad revenue, you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months. That’s a high bar for small creators, especially in saturated niches like gaming.
When you’re starting from scratch, every view feels like a miracle. But watching the analytics tick up so slowly — like 7 views, 2 likes, and 0 subscribers over an entire week — is brutal.
At a certain point, I had to ask myself: Am I spending all this time and energy on something that might never pay off, financially or emotionally?
5. The Most Watched Games Are Over-Saturated
If you search YouTube for gameplay of popular titles like Minecraft, GTA V, Roblox, Fortnite, or Elden Ring, you’ll find millions of videos. And many of them are made by creators who’ve already been doing this for years and have massive audiences.
Trying to break into that space is like shouting into a stadium full of people already cheering for someone else. It’s incredibly hard to stand out when you’re just another channel playing the same game with similar commentary.
I tried going for some lesser-known indie titles, thinking I could carve a niche. But those videos got even fewer views, because no one was searching for them. It’s a catch-22: play what’s popular and get buried, or play what’s obscure and get ignored.
6. I Didn’t Enjoy The Pressure Anymore
Gaming was always my escape — a way to unwind, explore new worlds, and challenge myself in a low-stakes environment. But once I started turning it into content, I couldn’t relax while playing. I was constantly thinking about things like:
- “Did I get enough footage?”
- “Was that death funny enough to keep in?”
- “Should I restart this mission to make it look cleaner?”
- “Do I need to be more excited in my voiceover?”
The pressure to perform took the joy out of the experience. I found myself avoiding games I loved just because I didn’t want to deal with recording.
That’s when I realized I didn’t want gaming to feel like a job — especially not an unpaid, thankless one.
7. There Are Other Creative Outlets I Enjoy More
Maybe this is the most personal reason of all. While trying to force my gaming channel to work, I neglected other creative passions — like reading, writing, watching shows, and even just having fun with friends offline.
Once I stepped back from the channel, I realized that I’d been pouring my energy into a project that wasn’t fulfilling me. And I was doing it out of guilt and stubbornness — not passion.
There’s a kind of clarity that comes from walking away from something and realizing that you don’t miss it. That’s what happened. I didn’t miss recording videos. I didn’t miss obsessively refreshing analytics. I didn’t miss trying to keep up with trends or game updates just to maybe squeeze out a few more views.
What I did miss was enjoying games on my own terms.
Final Thoughts
Quitting something — especially something creative — always feels like failure at first. But I’ve come to understand that walking away from something that isn’t serving you is actually a form of growth.
Trying to build a gaming YouTube channel taught me a lot: about myself, about digital content creation, about perseverance, and about what I truly enjoy. Even though the channel didn’t take off (either time), I don’t regret trying.
But I also don’t regret quitting.
If you’re someone who’s struggling with your own YouTube journey, especially in the gaming space, know this: it’s okay to step back. It’s okay to change directions. And it’s okay to just enjoy games for the love of them — without turning it into content.
Gaming doesn’t have to be a performance. Sometimes, it can just be played.
