Girlfriend Reviews’ first video on Red Dead Redemption 2 was a massive hit when it was uploaded in late November. At the time of writing this, it’s at 1.2 million views; the channel itself has over 350,000 subscribers. The rest of their videos average at about 400,000 views, at least. That’s no small feat for a channel that launched just months ago, with a dorky everyday couple behind it.

Since then, Girlfriend Reviews has uploaded a new video every week. Throughout the week, they also stream regularly, as a way to both capture footage needed for the videos and to interact with their fast growing community. Shelby says on average, they have a few hundred people watching their streams. As for now, YouTube is still their primary focus, even if they did recently become a Twitch partner.

The name Girlfriend Reviews brings up a lot of feelings to some about “fake geek girls” and clickbait-y articles headlined with, “Here’s All the Games Your Girlfriend Will Actually Want to Play,” listing games with heavy femme leanings (as if we can’t like shooters?). For the couple, subverting that expectation came basically accidentally. “It’s never really been a thought that we’ve had,” Shelby is quick to tell me. “We’re just making videos based on our experience as a couple. So, you know, we never really felt like we needed to change what we make, because we’re being authentic to ourselves.”

Girlfriend Reviews has already begun to shake up its core formula, elite singles mobil with recent videos like “What Co-Op Games Should You Play With Your Girlfriend?” In the future, they hope to do some What Should Your Boyfriend Play divergences, with Shelby recommending games for Matt. (“I’m not as much of a performer as Shelby,” Matt adds sheepishly.) Other ideas include movie reviews and date reviews, such as “Should You Take Your Boyfriend to Disneyland?” For Shelby, that one poses the most potential. “Any excuse for me to go to Disneyland is a win in my book,” she says. 続きを読む →