PietSmiet has been active on YouTube for 13 years now and is also successful on Twitch. In an interview with MeinMMO, Dennis Brammen talks about how the content has changed over the years and how they continually reinvent themselves.
Who are they? PietSmiet is a five-member gaming group that performs together on YouTube and Twitch. It consists of Jonathan Apelt, Dennis Brammen, Sebastian Lenßen, Peter Smits, and Christian Stachelhaus. Since autumn 2010, the guys have been publishing videos on YouTube.
It all started with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but over the years, many other games and formats were added. With 2.47 million subscribers, the group is one of the most popular gaming channels on German-speaking YouTube.
In the interview, Brammen from PietSmiet discussed with MeinMMO how to remain relevant even after such a long time in the industry.
On Twitch, PietSmiet primarily hosts larger events such as their annual charity event Friendly Fire with Gronkh:
Something New More Often
How has PietSmiet changed: When asked which change has been the most important for PietSmiet in recent years, Brammen explains that it cannot be tied to one major event. Instead, the group continually reinvents itself:
What we have realized over the years is that there are always moments when we abruptly change our content. Because we just say, let’s try something new now.
The first gaming videos on the YouTube channel of PietSmiet are recordings of their matches in CoD. Relatively quickly, the group started publishing Let’s Plays of EVE Online. Later, other games like Half-Life and Portal were added. The individual episodes were quite short, with a runtime of 10 to 15 minutes.
This then turned into complete Let’s Plays of games, Brammen explains. But there are also videos that veer away from the classic “I just play and let you watch” format, says the YouTuber. It’s more about taking the game to absurdity.
Currently, the concept is according to Brammen: “More standalone videos, fewer games, more gameplay, also in terms of quiz shows.”
Additionally, there’s Twitch: Although PietSmiet primarily identifies as YouTubers, they are also active on the streaming platform.
On Twitch, there are large, elaborately produced live events such as a camping trip or an e-kart tournament. With their events, PietSmiet reaches several tens of thousands of simultaneous viewers (via SullyGnome).
Just Go for It
How do you continually reinvent yourselves? MeinMMO also wanted to know and asked how PietSmiet approaches trying out new formats.
PietSmiet is no longer just the 5 gamers: As Brammen explains, they have a team of 22 people, and a planning conference is held once a week. The basic rule is: “If someone has an idea, we just do it.”
Many ideas may only perform moderately, but sometimes there’s something “really great” among them, says the YouTuber.
The community also plays a big role: On one hand, viewers determine the success of a format with their views. But fans can also directly influence things. On the PietSmiet website, they can submit ideas for new formats, which are then voted on in a reddit-like system.
Viewers can also submit ideas for game shows or quiz formats. Through this direct engagement from the community, the guys from PietSmiet can continually deliver what their audience wants to see – and this has paid off for over 13 years now.
A surprising success for PietSmiet was the simulation “Kebab Chefs!” As Brammen reveals, he cannot explain why this particular game among so many games that appear daily on Steam became so successful. This creates an interesting dynamic, as such quirky games can benefit from the attention of content creators: Twitch streamers make strange games famous for 24 hours, and viewers love it
