In a surprising twist, Discord’s April Fools’ video racked up a staggering 1.4 billion views within the first 24 hours on YouTube, dwarfing even the viewership of the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer. This improbable spike in views led to speculations about a potential glitch in YouTube’s view counting system, but the company has yet to comment.
Some point out that this may just be part of Discord’s April Fools’ prank, while others perceive the situation has drawn unprecedented attention to the video itself, setting the bar high for any future content.
The video humorously hinted at introducing loot boxes to Discord, triggering debates and discussions across gaming forums. Despite its playful tone, the video shone a critical light on the widespread use of loot boxes in gaming. Discord later clarified the video was speculative and doesn’t necessarily indicate any future changes for the platform.
Interestingly, the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer recorded a mere 61 million views in half-day release, and 183 million views four months later. In contrast, the Discord video continued to gain momentum, underscoring the audience’s craving for unique and compelling content, surpassing high-profile game trailers.
The video’s performance has been incredibly disruptive and has challenged popular content norms.
Discord’s prank outperforms GTA 6 trailer
It will be intriguing to see how this impacts the approach of creators and digital marketers moving forward.
Even MrBeast, known for his viral videos, managed only 541 million views on his most viewed video of 2021, falling significantly behind Discord’s prank video. This unprecedented success of Discord’s video serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of viral content.
Marvin Witt, a Discord data miner, suggests that this sudden surge may be due to a software glitch involving Discord’s toast notifications, artificially inflating the viewer count. Despite the allegations, Discord is yet to publicly address the issue.
The company denies any intentional deception regarding the high viewer count and is currently taking steps to rectify the situation. However, YouTube’s stance on this surprising view spike remains to be seen as the public waits for an official statement from both companies.
