Karl Thomas Jacobs[4] (born July 19, 1998), formerly known as GamerBoyKarl, is an American Twitch streamer, YouTuber, writer, and producer. He rose to prominence as a member of MrBeast's on-screen cast[5] and then developed his own videos, primarily Minecraft content. Jacobs is the creator of the anthology series Tales from the SMP set in the Dream SMP, which will be adapted into a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He is also a co-host of the Banter podcast with fellow YouTubers Sapnap and GeorgeNotFound.

Karl Jacobs
Karl Jacobs in 2023
Personal information
Born
Karl Thomas Jacobs

(1998-07-19) July 19, 1998 (age 26)[1][2]
Twitch information
Also known asGamerBoyKarl
Channel
Years active2017–present
Followers3.7 million
Associated acts
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2020–present
Subscribers4.68 million[3]
Total views324 million[3]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers

Last updated: September 18, 2024

Career

Jacobs began streaming on Twitch in 2017, playing Roblox under the name GamerBoyKarl.[6][7] In 2019, he was hired as a video editor for YouTuber MrBro. Jacobs then became a cameraman for MrBro's brother, YouTuber MrBeast,[when?] before transitioning into a member of MrBeast's on-screen cast.[when?][6][8][9] During a video for MrBeast Gaming, Jacobs met Minecraft YouTuber Dream, and was later invited to join his server, the Dream SMP.[8][9][10]

Jacobs created[when?] the online anthology series Tales from the SMP, which explores the story of characters in the Dream SMP by following Jacobs' time-travelling character to various times and locations throughout the server.[7][11] The series has featured internet personalities such as Lil Nas X, Dream, and Corpse Husband.[12] The season two pilot, titled "The Maze," premiered on February 11, 2022.[13] In August 2022, Jacobs announced that stories from his series Tales from the SMP would be adapted as a series of comic books titled Time Traveler Tales for Dark Horse Comics. The comic books will be written by Dave Scheidt and illustrated by Kelly and Nichole Matthews.[12][14][15]

In September 2021, Jacobs started a podcast with fellow Minecraft YouTuber Sapnap titled Banter. Following the release of the first episode, which featured MrBeast, Banter briefly overtook The Joe Rogan Experience as the number one podcast on Spotify.[16][17] On August 6, 2022, GeorgeNotFound publicly debuted as the third host on the podcast.[18][19]

In March 2022, Jacobs was announced to be the creative ambassador for shoe retailer Journeys.[20] On November 9, the game Once Upon a Jester was launched on Steam, with Jacobs voicing several characters.[21] On November 14, 2022, Jacobs released his first animated short titled Beside Myself.[22][23] The short featured Jacobs as writer and producer, Elenor Kopka as animator and director, and Richie Woods as music composer.[24][25][23]

On September 24, 2022, Jacobs participated in the 2022 Sidemen Charity Football Match, playing for the Sidemen team against the YouTube Allstars team. The event managed to raised more than £1,000,000 for four U.K. based charities: Campaign Against Living Miserably, Teenage Cancer Trust, Rays of Sunshine, and M7 Education.[26] A year later he participated again in the 2023 Sidemen Charity Football Match, this time playing for the YouTube Allstars team. The event managed to raised more than £2,400,000 for various charities.[27][28]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2021 11th Streamy Awards Breakout Creator Nominated [29]
2022 The Game Awards 2022 Content Creator of the Year Nominated [30]
2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 Games Included [31]

References

  1. ^ @KarlJacobs_ (July 19, 2023). "Birthday :D" (Tweet). Retrieved July 17, 2024 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ @KarlJacobs_ (September 28, 2023). "Chill I'm 25 (with my moms credit card)" (Tweet). Retrieved July 17, 2024 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b "About Karl". YouTube.
  4. ^ Donaldson, James Stephen (March 13, 2020). $70,000 Extreme Hide And Seek - Challenge (Video). Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via YouTube. My middle name is Thomas.
  5. ^ "Has MrBeast's Close Aide Karl Jacobs Joined His Team as a Conspiracy to Make the Channel More 'Family-Friendly'? Minecraft Streamer Finally Puts an End to All Theories". EssentiallySports. December 31, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Lee, Alexander (March 7, 2022). "'More organic': YouTuber Karl Jacobs on why creators should prioritize working with like-minded sponsors". Digiday. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Basbas, Franchesca Judine (August 20, 2021). "10 streamers you need to watch: Valkyrae, Disguised Toast, TommyInnit, Kyedae, and more". Bandwagon. Asia. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Asarch, Steven (March 29, 2022). "Karl Jacobs reveals how a Mr. Beast fluke made him a Minecraft icon". Inverse. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Fay, Kacee (September 21, 2022). "Who is Karl Jacobs? Everything to know about the dynamic Minecraft, MrBeast star". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Asarch, Steven (May 3, 2021). "One of YouTube's top Minecraft streamers apologized for past support of a creator known for his "toxic" history". Insider. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Fay, Kacee (February 11, 2022). "How to watch Tales From the SMP: The Maze". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Destito, Deanna (August 2, 2022). "Karl Jacobs and Dark Horse team up for TIME TRAVELER TALES". Comics Beat. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  13. ^ Fay, Kacee (February 11, 2022). "All streamers participating in Tales From the SMP: The Maze". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Michael, Cale (August 1, 2022). "Karl Jacobs partners with Dark Horse to publish new comic series". Dot Esports. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  15. ^ Hale, James (August 2, 2022). "Karl Jacobs is turning his Dream SMP adventures into a Dark Horse comic series". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Hale, James (October 4, 2021). "Karl Jacobs And Sapnap's New Podcast Knocked "The Joe Rogan Experience" Out Of First Place On Spotify". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  17. ^ Nolan, Emma (September 30, 2021). "Joe Rogan Loses Top Spot on Spotify Podcast Charts". Newsweek. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  18. ^ Karl Jacobs; Sapnap; GeorgeNotFound (August 6, 2022). "GeorgeNotFound Joins BANTER". BANTER (Podcast).
  19. ^ Fay, Kacee (October 11, 2022). "Who is GeorgeNotFound? History, earnings, age, setup". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2022. In August 2022, GeorgeNotFound joined Karl Jacobs and Sapnap as the third co-host of the Banter podcast.
  20. ^ McMaster, Jason (March 31, 2022). "Journeys announces Karl Jacobs as Creative Ambassador". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  21. ^ Starkey, Adam (November 15, 2022). "Once Upon A Jester review - improv indie gaming". Metro. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  22. ^ @KarlJacobs_ (November 14th, 2022). "Beside Myself...An Animated Short!" (Tweet) -- via Twitter.
  23. ^ a b Pandya, Kairavi (December 13, 2022). "Who is Karl Jacobs and why is he famous?". Spiel Times. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  24. ^ @elenorkopka (November 15th, 2022. "I animated & directed a short written by @KarlJacobs_..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ @richiewoods55 (November 14th, 2022). "i made the music/sfx for this amazing animated short!! written by karl and animated by the epic @elenorkopka..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ Polhamus, Blaine (September 24, 2022). "Sidemen Charity Match 2022: Winners, highlights, and funds raised". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  27. ^ "Sidemen FC vs YouTube Allstars - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats". FotMob. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  28. ^ Gutelle, Sam (September 11, 2023). "Sidemen raise £2.4 million, break YouTube viewership records with 2023 charity match". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  29. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 20, 2021). "YouTube Streamy Awards 2021 Nominations Announced, MrBeast Leads With Seven Nods". Variety. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  30. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (November 14, 2022). "The Game Awards 2022 Nominations Sees God of War: Ragnarok Leading With 10 Awards Nods". IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2024: Games". Forbes. Retrieved March 18, 2024.