The untold story behind YouTube's legendary gaming creator
In June 2023, after posting a reaction to the Five Nights at Freddy's movie trailer, CoryxKenshin vanished without explanation.
For 18 months, Cory's 16 million subscribers were left wondering about his whereabouts. His YouTube channel went silent, no community posts were made, and his Twitter account fell completely inactive.[1](@ref)
"The sudden disappearance was completely unexpected. Cory had never announced a planned break, leaving his community concerned and speculating about what might have happened."[1](@ref)
In August 2022, Cory made explosive allegations against YouTube, accusing the platform of racial bias in its content moderation practices.[6,7](@ref)
Cory's gameplay video of "The Mortuary Assistant" was hit with an age-restriction label, significantly reducing its visibility and revenue potential. When he reviewed similar videos by white creators (including Markiplier), he discovered theirs had no restrictions despite containing identical content.[7](@ref)
"YouTube either is playing favorites, or they're a bunch of racists, or both." - CoryxKenshin in his viral exposé video[7](@ref)
The gaming community rallied behind Cory, with top creators like Jacksepticeye and Markiplier joining his cause. Markiplier launched the "Try Not to Get Age Restricted Challenge" to test YouTube's enforcement consistency.[6](@ref)
Markiplier's challenge video containing explicit content wasn't age-restricted, further validating Cory's claims of inconsistent enforcement.[6](@ref)
Instead of addressing the concerns, YouTube doubled down - applying age restrictions to all similar videos and removing Markiplier from their "Game On" event roster as apparent retaliation. The platform offered no formal explanation for their inconsistent enforcement.[6,7](@ref)
Cory's gameplay video is age-restricted while similar videos by white creators remain unaffected
Cory posts "YouTube: Racism and Favoritism" video that trends #1 with 7M+ views
Markiplier launches "Try Not to Get Age Restricted Challenge" proving inconsistent enforcement
YouTube removes Markiplier from "Game On" event and suppresses all related content
After 18 months of silence, Cory returned in December 2024 with a surprise announcement - his original manga series "Monsters We Make".[1](@ref)
"I hope you've all been doing well in the long time we haven't seen each other. Thank God I'm finally back." - Cory's first words after returning[1](@ref)
The manga follows Jabari Booker, a talented musician who enters the New Edyn Academy only to find himself embroiled in a dark conspiracy involving mutated creatures and powerful tech corporations.[3](@ref)
"Monsters We Make is my testing ground for ideas I've collected over decades. Creating a story that examines humanity and explores our motivations has been incredibly fulfilling."[3](@ref)
Cory DeVante Williams[2](@ref)
Detroit, Michigan[2](@ref)
A dog named Samson[2](@ref)
Younger brother Anthony (Certified AK) and sister Aleya[2](@ref)
Launched YouTube channel initially as a vlogging platform[2](@ref)
Transitioned to gaming content, finding his true calling[2](@ref)
Became YouTube's voice against unfair content moderation[6,7](@ref)
Returned with groundbreaking manga series "Monsters We Make"[1,3](@ref)
Cory has expressed his desire to adapt "Monsters We Make" into an animated series. His passion for fight choreography and lifelong love of anime serve as driving forces for this next creative chapter.[3](@ref)
"Seeing characters like the Raikage in Naruto meant the world to me. I hope my protagonist Jabari can become someone's pillar of strength during their growth, just like Goku was for me."[3](@ref)