The 25 English-language YouTube channels with the most views on survival game videos in the 12 months to October 20, 2026, from Streamforge’s creator data.
The list
Survival games drop the player somewhere hostile with almost nothing: find food and water, gather wood and stone, craft tools, build a base, and stay alive. Rust, DayZ, Ark, Valheim, Subnautica and Sons of the Forest are the big names, and the creators who play them make long series that viewers follow for weeks.
These are the English-language YouTube channels that put the most survival game videos in front of people in the last 12 months. Each one makes mostly survival games, so a brand that books them reaches viewers who came for the genre.
@Willjum
Solo Rust stories on official and vanilla servers, from sky fortresses and underground bunkers to ocean living and wipes with hired veteran players.
United Kingdom
@Grantyy
Long Ark survival challenge runs, each set on a new map, mod or PvP server, such as Lost Colony, Astraeos, Atlantis and Scorched Earth Reborn.
United States
@spoonkid2169
Rust raids, traps and odd challenge runs, such as living only in a cave, playing with no map or trying Chinese Rust.
United States
@Blooprint
Rust wipe stories told as named episodes, including the running series The Solo Life and the movie-length A Solo's Journey, plus duo and trio wipes.
United States
@Memeio
Rust videos about secretly living in hidden bases under monuments, inside clan territory or at a bus stop, plus a DayZ bridge base and Rust in Minecraft.
Australia
@twigrust
Rust trolling videos that surround the Outpost with barricades, landmines, beepers and hidden traps, plus pranks on cheaters and server events.
Canada
@Syntac
Ark: Survival Ascended creature taming and update coverage, plus numbered episode series on Genesis and Ragnarok and a running Palworld playthrough.
Israel
@Welyn
Rust solo videos built around trap bases, secret cave and boat bases and raids on rich clans, with occasional DayZ, Escape from Tarkov and ARC Raiders runs.
United States
@Xavii
ARK PvP on crowded official servers, from early cave claims to the Full ARK Wipe Story series following veteran tribes and duos to endgame.
United Kingdom
@SourSweet
Solo DayZ adventures and server stories, from hidden treehouse bases and taking on factions to winter survival and a DayZ movie.
United Kingdom
@Enardo
Rust raids with huge player groups, admin trolling and event pranks, plus automated factory builds and server griefing, with a look at Active Matter.
United Kingdom
@Glock9
Episode-by-episode let's play series, led by The Liberator in 7 Days to Die, alongside Stranded Deep, VEIN's The Last Farmer and Conan Exiles Enhanced.
United States
@ProfessorPenking
Palworld guides and tests, covering boss and raid builds, which pals suit base jobs, hidden attack mechanics, schematic locations and game settings.
Sweden
@ChaosBearGaming
Palworld and RuneScape: Dragonwilds guides and news, with update breakdowns, base building tutorials, location guides and a full Palworld completion playthrough, plus Enshrouded tips.
United States
@JLKplus
Squad and trio DayZ stories about hidden bases in caves, dams, forests and treehouses, revenge raids and surviving new maps and modded servers.
United Kingdom
@mr.brollow
Project Zomboid challenge runs and base-building movies, like running a hotel, living on a boat or building inside a prison, plus Vintage Story and Hytale.
@KezzaZomboid
Project Zomboid builds and challenges, from living in an abandoned supermarket, airport or skyscraper to moving bases, castles and large multiplayer war simulations.
Australia
@MrMEOLA
Ark: Survival Evolved episodes about taming odd creatures and evolving each into a stronger form, such as a Dodorex turned Legendary Rex, plus fights with Abyssal Gods.
Australia
@Goblin_Mode
Story videos from Ark: Survival Ascended servers about building goblin cities, holding ground against cheating tribes and tribe wars, plus Soulmask and a Rust battle event.
United Kingdom
@SebbyK29
Rust wipe stories about fresh starts, rare build spots, clan wars and odd base ideas like cow bases, with a look at the extraction game Active Matter.
United Kingdom
@Anthomnia
Subnautica 2 update previews, leaks and encounters with giant leviathan sea creatures, plus a full early access playthrough and mods that add older Subnautica monsters.
Canada
@Raasclark
Ark: Survival Ascended update news and strength tests on creatures and gear like the Giga, Zomdodo and Tek Spear, plus mod picks and early PvP survival runs.
United Kingdom
@SnazzyjonesGaming
Valheim guides and commentary, covering biome weapon picks, grappling hook tricks, mistakes to avoid and full release changes, plus games to play next.
Canada
@OblivionYouTube
Rust trap bases and exploit tricks, such as kidnapping players from safe zones, hidden pressure pad traps and a base that sends loot underground.
United Kingdom
@OilratsFrogboots
Named Rust wipe day episodes, mostly solo with some duo runs, following veteran players through the opening day of a fresh server.
GermanyEnglish-language YouTube channels run by a person, not by a brand, a group or a fan page. Channels YouTube marks as made for kids are left out. Each one uploaded at least eight long-form videos in the 12 months to October 20, 2026, and at least one in the 60 days before that date.
At least 50% of each channel’s long-form videos in those 12 months were survival game videos, and at least 8 of them. That keeps the list to channels built on the topic, not variety channels that tried it once.
Every channel was then checked against its 15 most recent video titles. Channels that mostly post something else now, or that read as a brand, news, fan or compilation channel, were left out.
Each creator gets one place. Where a creator runs more than one qualifying channel, the list ranks the channel with the most views on survival game videos and links the others under Channels.
By views on survival game videos in the 12 months from October 20, 2025 to October 20, 2026: the views on the long-form videos each channel posted in that time, counting only survival game videos. Shorts and live streams are not counted.
We rank by views, not subscribers, because subscribers count everyone who ever followed a channel. Views show who is being watched now. Subscribers are still shown for every channel.
A video counts when Streamforge matches it to one of these games:
Rust, DayZ, Project Zomboid, Valheim, Subnautica, Subnautica 2, Subnautica: Below Zero, The Forest, Sons of the Forest, 7 Days to Die, Palworld, Don’t Starve Together, Don’t Starve, Raft, Grounded, Grounded 2, Green Hell, The Long Dark, Stranded Deep, Conan Exiles, V Rising, Enshrouded, Icarus, Once Human, Soulmask, Abiotic Factor, No Man’s Sky, Ark: Survival Evolved, Ark: Survival Ascended, Scum, Dune: Awakening, Sunkenland, Nightingale, Vintage Story, Core Keeper, Unturned, Medieval Dynasty, Bellwright, Smalland: Survive the Wilds, Pacific Drive, The Isle, Path of Titans and Muck.
Subscribers is the count YouTube showed at our last check. Survival game views are the views the list ranks by, over the 12 months. Plays most names the games the channel made the most long-form videos about in that time.
Audience is Streamforge’s AI estimate of who watches: the larger side of the split between women and men, and the largest age group. It does not need the creator to connect an account, and Streamforge has benchmarked the technique against the platforms’ own audience data. It is an estimate, not the channel’s YouTube analytics.
Channels links the creator’s other YouTube channels and profiles on other platforms, as Streamforge links them. The one-line notes are written from each channel’s recent video titles.
Willjum, with 73.9M views on survival game videos in the 12 months to October 20, 2026, ahead of Granty and spoonkid2. The full ranking is above, and “How we ranked” explains what counts.
Crafting and base-building survival games: the full list of games is under “How we ranked”. Battle royales and extraction shooters such as PUBG, Apex Legends and ARC Raiders are left out, even though stores often tag them survival, and so are Minecraft and Terraria, which have audiences of their own.
Subscribers count everyone who ever followed a channel, including people who stopped watching years ago. Views from the last 12 months show who is actually being watched now, which is what a sponsorship pays for.
Most list a business email on their YouTube About page. Before you reach out, check how many views their recent videos get, where their audience lives and which brands they already work with. Streamforge shows all three for every channel on this list.
Top creators
Number one: Neax, with 36.7M views on horror game videos in 12 months.
Number one: James Turner, with 10.9M views on cozy game videos in 12 months.
Number one: MrBeast Gaming, with 1.1B views on Minecraft videos in 12 months.
Search 48M creators, then read each one’s audience before you reach out. Tell us who you need to reach and we’ll run the search with you.
30 minLet’s talkWith Ellia and Xavier from StreamforgeNo deck. Xavier opens the platform and runs it on your market while you watch.
Top creators
Top 25 survival game YouTubers in 2026
The 25 English-language YouTube channels with the most views on survival game videos in the last 12 months: what each one makes, its subscribers and views, and who watches.
