Like nearly every little thing MrBeast does, his present on Prime Video, Beast Games, was huge. The Squid Game-like present wherein 1,000 contestants competed for $10 million turned Amazon’s most watched unscripted sequence ever, with 50 million viewers within the month it started streaming.
That $10 million money prize was the most important in recreation present historical past, too. It was initially $5 million, however through the sequence, MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) doubled it with a coin flip. That’s simply one of many causes MrBeast says that regardless of a $100 million funds supplied by Amazon, he nonetheless paid “tens of thousands and thousands” out of his personal pocket.
“It was not monetary resolution to make Beast Games,” MrBeast mentioned in an interview with The Diary of a CEO on YouTube. “I misplaced cash. I might have more cash if I did not movie it.”
In the interview (by way of GamesRadar) MrBeast defined that the fee for only a single episode of the 10-episode sequence may exceed $15 million. Episode 1, in line with MrBeast, featured “arguably one of many largest units ever inbuilt historical past” and the town set in Episode 2 price $14 million alone to construct. Throw in the price of the prizes given in these episodes, and “you are most likely over $50 million” for simply the primary two episodes, he mentioned.
When requested how a lot the complete present actually price: “That I’ve been suggested to not say,” although he claims it finally price way over $100 million. “I misplaced tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} on that present,” he mentioned. “I’m an fool.”
It’s exhausting to take his self-depreciation significantly—spending staggering quantities of money whereas grinning is sort of his entire factor, proper? He additionally took the chance to rattle off info concerning the present that led to its ballooning funds. “Largest units in historical past, most World Records in historical past, largest money prize in historical past, most winners in historical past, most contestants in historical past, most cameras,” he mentioned. “We broke a World Record for many digicam cables ran. Like, essentially the most miles of digicam cables.”
A much less enjoyable reality about Beast Games is that the present was additionally reportedly a nightmare for a lot of contestants. Over a dozen Beast Game rivals anonymously informed the New York Times that they have been solely fed small meals twice a day, weren’t capable of entry their very own prescription drugs in a well timed method, and witnessed different contestants vomiting, passing out, and being rushed to the hospital.
“We signed up for the present, however we did not join not being fed or watered or handled like human beings,” one contestant informed the Times in August. A spokesman for MrBeast mentioned the influencer had begun a “formal evaluate” of the matter and that the present had “taken steps to make sure that we be taught from this expertise.”
When requested about Beast Games Season 2 on The Diary of a CEO, MrBeast could not affirm it. “Amazon!” he yelled. “Let’s get Season 2 within the books already! Come on, let’s signal a contract.”
