Report: Beast Games Breaks Amazon Prime Record

MrBeast's reality show Beast Games is now the most-watched unscripted show on Prime Video after reaching 50 million views just five episodes in.
MrBeast stands in front of contestants in Episode 4 of Beast Games.
MrBeast stands in front of contestants in Episode 4 of Beast Games. / MrBeast; Prime Video

MrBeast's Beast Games has just broken a significant Amazon Prime Video streaming record. Despite its critical reviews and controversy, the show appears to be massively successful among viewers. Let's explore everything we know about Beast Games, its Prime Video record, why the series is attracting so much attention and how viewership trends could progress in the future.

MrBeast and Beast Games

YouTuber James "MrBeast" Donaldson is a household name for his challenge and philanthropy videos. With over 344 million subscribers on his main @MrBeast YouTube channels, fans worldwide tune in to consume his content. Alongside his media and creation efforts, Donaldson co-founded charity initiatives Team Trees and Team Seas. He also owns snack bar brand Feastables, virtual restaurant chain MrBeast Burger and snack pack company Lunchly (with fellow influencers Logan Paul and KSI.)

In 2024, MrBeast decided to branch out into a new business venture: the YouTuber partnered with Amazon to release Beast Games, a competition show with the largest prize pool in history. The show, heavily inspired by Korean Netflix classic Squid Games, follows 1,000 numbered contestants as they compete in challenges for a 5 million USD prize.

Beast Games is an Amazon Prime Video exclusive, and will have ten total episodes. Episodes are releasing weekly, starting with "1,000 People Fight For $5,000,000" released on December 9 2024. The show's final Season 1 episode will air on February 13 2025.

Related Article: Beast Games: How to Watch MrBeast's Amazon Prime Show, All Episodes Schedule

Beast Games will likely return for a second season, since the show's contestant application portal encourages visitors to return and apply "when applications reopen for the next Beast Games!"

Beast Games Breaks Prime Video Record

Lil Yachty burns an eliminated player's flag on Beast Island.
Lil Yachty burns an eliminated player's flag on Beast Island. / MrBeast; Prime Video

As of January 17 2025, the first Beast Games is halfway over and six episodes of Season 1 are live. The show has so far included a plethora of challenges, rivalries and betrayals between players, a custom-built Beast City, a private island and even a surprise appearance from celebrity Lil Yachty.

Related Article: Beast Games is Halfway Over: Biggest Moments So Far

Even before the show's release, it was receiving high engagement. MrBeast's prequel video where he eliminated 1,000 contestants before the Games even started, titled "2,000 People Fight for $5,000,000", reached 50 million views in just one day. According to a recent article from Forbes, the viewership success hasn't stopped there: Beast Games has become the most-watched unscripted Amazon Prime Video show of all time, with over 50 million views in just 25 days. This milestone occurred while the series was only halfway released and had over 60 contestants remaining.

Beast Games is also reportedly the "second best Prime Video debut of 2024", only behind fan-favorite game adaptation Fallout (starring Ella Purnell, whom gamers will also recognize from her voice-acting work as Jinx in Arcane.)

As Beast Game's competition approaches a climax and the series draws closer to its final episode, the positive viewership trend could very likely continue or even increase.

Critical Flop, Controversy, Can't Look Away

MrBeast in front of 5 million dollars in cash from Beast Games
Beast Games has the largest prize pool in game show history. / MrBeast ; Amazon Prime Studios

As Beast Games has sparked controversy since its reveal, the internet may ask: what factors have helped the show reach its massive popularity despite its negative press?

Before Beast Games reached its Amazon Prime Video view milestone, the show appeared to struggle with public perception. Critics widely disapproved of the series, with The Guardian's Stuart Heritage calling it "one of the most undignified spectacles ever shown on TV" and The Telegraph's Ed Power referring to it as "$100 million worth of charmless nonsense." In addition, IMDB rated the show just 6.2 out of 10 stars, while Metacritic delivered a 3.8/10 rating.

Viewers criticized the extravagance of the show, which is a stark contrast to the less-than-promising economic climate. Many commented that it felt disingenuous to watch contestants brutally backstab, betray and plot against each other for the massive 5 million USD prize while the average watcher might struggle to afford groceries and pay rent. One IMDB user even says:

It is not entertainment, it hurts to watch and I do not understand how a human with any empathy can stand this show.

@racunzameti on IMDB

Related Article: MrBeast's 'Beast Games' Flops With Critics

The internet has also kept an eye on an ongoing lawsuit surrounding the Games, filed by five contestants who accused MrBeast and his team of unsafe and harmful conditions. The contestant's allegations include:

  • Failure to pay fair wages
  • Failure to prevent sexual harassment or sexual harassment
  • Failure to provide lunch breaks and medications
  • False advertisement
  • Dangerous practices

The suit stated: "Several contestants ended up hospitalized... others reported suffering physical and mental complications while being subjected to chronic mistreatment, degradation and, for the female contestants, hostile working conditions."

MrBeast has since refuted the allegations in interviews, where he has stated that many are "disinformation" and said ""I think in general, a lot of it has just been blown out of proportion."

There is one key factor propelling Beast Games to success amidst the controversies surrounding it: both good and bad press has only resulted in more public awareness, and whether they love it or hate it, viewers just can't look away. Rotten Tomatoes' analysis of the title best displays this phenomenon: the site's critics rate Beast Games as solidly rotten at just 13% on its Tomatometer, while fans have a drastically different outlook at 82% popcornmeter approval.

As divisive as the show's content is, it's also new. Beast Games' 5 million USD grand prize is unprecedented, and its large-scale challenges are original. While no one can guarantee it truly is "the greatest show ever made" as advertised on its Amazon Prime Video page, it certainly is one-of-a-kind.

NEXT: Beast Games Qualifier Video Hits 50 Million Views in 24 hours


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