Beast Games Aftermath

Jimmy Donaldson hosting Beast Games, San Clemente William King | Lariat

Beast Games, a game show created by Jimmy Donaldson, had Guinness tracking its massive film set, layers of production, and broke 44 world records throughout the first season. However, the show’s release was also one of the most controversial moments in game show history leaving many skeptical as to what Beast Games might represent for the caliber of game shows moving forward. With the cash prize being $5,000,000 at the beginning of the show and doubling to $10,000,000 in the final episodes, the game show created a money hungry hysteria among contestants that audiences at home have never quite witnessed before. 

All the contestants who made it past the first episode were sent to ‘Beast City,’ a custom made city for the contestants where they slept, ate, and interacted with each other. 

“No phone, no computer, no internet,” according to Jeff Allen in an interview with the DailyMail.com., winner of their first season and the biggest prize earnings in game show history. 

The reality-game series has been influenced by ‘Squid Games,’ a Japanese fictional game show where people willingly sacrifice their lives in a series of games in an attempt to be the one who wins $1,000,000. Beast Games has many elements of greed, bribery, and betrayal amongst the contestants.

Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. Mr. Beast, created a game that fully removed every contestant from the outside world leaving them to work with complete strangers. This isolation balanced with skill-based and random elimination events made for a thrilling viewer experience.

The contestants understood that all of these elements would eventually lead one of them towards the greatest giveaway in game show history, which escalated things drastically. Playing under these high stakes and conditions made this game show more of a sociological observation rather than your traditional win or lose type of game. Various additional prize competitions were included in the games on top of the final cash prize, which intensified freak-outs and impulsive choices as a result. 

The other prizes included a private island worth around $2,000,000, a Lamborghini, a Tesla, immunity from elimination during certain competitions, and $1,000,000 challenges. Normally in game shows, contestants cannot opt for a cash sum in lieu of prizes according to Moneyning. 

In a Beast Games Reunion event posted to Mr. Beast’s main YouTube channel, it was revealed that he offered the cash value of prizes won by contestants like the $1,600,000 island taken by Mia Speights, a 44-year-old woman from Baltimore.

“It was never a competition. I’m on my own highway. Forget a lane,” Indigo Childs, a contestant, explains why she went on the game-show competition.

Game shows used to provide a life changing cash sum to its winners. However, given inflationary pressures causing higher prices in America, that has not been the case until Beast Games altered the narrative with incredibly high prize amounts. 

The show’s release could have implications on other game shows in the future, causing them to increase their earnings across networks given the success of viewership and revenue of Beast Games. A 2023 article by Marketplace estimated, “If game show amounts kept up with inflation, winners on ‘Survivor’ would now be getting a $1.8 million prize while winners on ‘The Amazing Race’ would be ranking in north of $1.7 million.” 

On a YouTube interview with The Iced Coffee Hour, the aforementioned winner of the games, Jeff Allen, described the unorthodox nature of “receiving a wire transfer for $10,000,000 from Jimmy himself” and was left to pay taxes on his own. 

Allen stated he was using the money to change his family’s life and start a foundation to support research efforts for Creatine Transporter Deficiency, a disease his youngest son battles.

Beast Games was a huge win for the creator economy as Donaldson is an internet-based creative YouTuber from North Carolina who started with nothing but a camera and computer nine years ago. From starting as a small gaming YouTube channel, growing to be the biggest on the platform, and now having a top ranked game show on a streaming service, Jimmy is a walking depiction of the fact that the future of entertainment and wealth lies in influencers and their strides toward building an authentic fan base through social media. 

By making it possible for everyday people to participate in the show and leave with millions of dollars, Donaldson has created an extremely exciting game show leaving viewers and possible contestants looking forward to the possibility of a second season.

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