High-profile YouTube stars KSI and the Sidemen have been listed among the UK’s richest gamers and creators, alongside the minds behind Candy Crush, Minecraft, and Grand Theft Auto. Topping the Sunday Times’ inaugural Gaming Rich List are Playrix co-founders Igor and Dmitry Bukhman, who have amassed a combined fortune of £12.54 billion with titles like Township, Fishdom, and Homescapes. KSI and the Sidemen, notable for their challenge videos, sketches, and gaming commentary, are the highest-ranked gamers, tied for 21st place with a net worth of £50 million.
The list highlights that over a quarter of the gamers and developers featured are under 35, with the average age being 45. Women are notably underrepresented, with only three making the list. KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, is part of the Sidemen, a YouTube collective with a significant following.
Other notable entries include PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg), a Swedish vlogger based in Japan, who ranks 25th with £45 million and operates several companies in the UK. Dan and Sam Houser, co-founders of Rockstar Games, are fourth with a combined fortune of £350 million, known for the Grand Theft Auto series. The creators of Candy Crush—Riccardo Zacconi, Mel Morris, and Sebastian Knutsson—are in the top 10, with their game surpassing three billion downloads.
In the 11th spot are Paddy Burns and Chris van der Kuyl, developers of Minecraft for Xbox, each with £150 million. Wendy Irvin-Braben of Frontier Developments, who made the top 10 with her husband David, holds the 10th position with a joint worth of £175 million. Debbie Bestwick, former CEO of Team17, which developed Worms and Overcooked, is 13th with £130 million. Tamsin O’Luanaigh, co-founder of virtual reality company nDreams, is 28th with a joint worth of £26 million.
Robert Watts, the compiler of the Sunday Times Gaming Rich List, noted that while making a fortune from video games might seem like a “dream” to many, the list showcases the “rags-to-riches stories” of those who have achieved just that.
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