Launch date confirmed for MrBeast’s controversial game show

The show has been hit with numerous accusations from unhappy contestants

A premiere date has been confirmed for MrBeast’s controversial Amazon Prime show Beast Games, with the first two episodes set to debut next month.

MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, is the biggest YouTuber in the world and currently has more than 300 million subscribers to his account. Much of his content revolves around expensive stunts, featuring hundreds of people and philanthropy projects.

Beast Games is set to be the 26-year-old’s first foray into television but it has already been hit with a lawsuit from contestants alleging ‘chronic mistreatment’, sexual harassment and an inadequate supply of food and medical care.

Despite all this, the show is now set to be released on Amazon Prime on December 19, with new episodes being released weekly from then on.

In a press release, Amazon says: “From the groundbreaking mind of MrBeast comes a new, record-breaking competition series. A staggering 1,000 contestants compete in nail-biting, physical, mental, and social challenges, for a chance to win a whopping $5 million dollar cash prize.”

The release adds: “Week by week, contestants will use their strength and wit to stay in the game, with the hope of being the multi-million-dollar winner.”

Philanthropy MrBeast (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In March, he announced he was teaming up with Amazon MGM Studios to create a reality competition show called Beast Games. The show promises the winner a prize of $5m, the biggest prize in streaming and television history.

Thousands of fans signed up to compete on the show, with 2,000 being selected to compete in Nevada at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. This number will be whittled down to 1,000 who will compete in the televised event.

MrBeast accepts the Favourite Male Creator award onstage during the 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards at Microsoft Theater on 4 March, 2023 in Los Angeles (Getty Images for Nickelodeon)

Elsewhere, Donaldson has teamed up with fellow influencers Logan Paul and Olajide “KSI” Olatunji to create Lunchly, a “groundbreaking new better-for-you lunch option.” The pre-packaged lunch combines all of their branded products – the YouTuber’s “Feastables” milk chocolate bar; a bottle of Paul and KSI’s sports drink, Prime Hydration; and one of three packaged food options, including pizza, nachos, or turkey and cheese with crackers.

Donaldson has also revealed details of a three-month investigation into claims against his company after a former collaborator was accused of grooming a minor. Earlier this year, Ava Kris Tyson, who appeared in a multitude of MrBeast videos, was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor. Tyson has strongly denied the allegations.

The investigation resulted in 5 to 10 employees being fired from the company, however, a precise number is yet to be released.

The nearly three-month probe concluded that there was no basis behind allegations that MrBeast team members committed sexual misconduct or “knowingly” employed people with “proclivities or histories towards illegal or questionable legal conduct.”

On X/Twitter, Donaldson shared the findings, adding that during the investigation he was “asked to refrain from making public statements to enable a detailed and unbiased investigation.”