Benjamin Dreyer Vestergård, the prominent Danish gaming personality widely known as Crainer, announced he is permanently ceasing all uploads to his primary YouTube channel, MrCrainer, which currently boasts 7.76 million subscribers.
Vestergård explained that the legacy brand no longer feels authentic to his current creative direction and that he will now focus exclusively on his secondary channel, titled Just Craner.
The move marks a significant pivot for the veteran creator who has spent over a decade building one of the most recognizable brands in the Minecraft and variety gaming community.
Vestergård shared that the decision followed a trial period with the new channel, which he launched several months ago. He noted that the experience of starting fresh made content creation feel exciting again, allowing him to engage in more frequent live streaming and authentic interactions.
The creator emphasized that while the old channel was a massive success, it eventually outgrew him in a way that felt restrictive.
The transition comes during a period of renewed collaboration with fellow gaming influencer Jelle van Vucht, known online as Jelly. Vestergård revealed that the two have already launched a new series focused on Hytale, an upcoming sandbox game, on the new platform.
This reunion is particularly notable for fans following the recent professional turbulence between Vestergård and his former trio partners, as he seeks to re-establish his niche outside of the “MrCrainer” persona.
For many aspiring creators, Vestergård’s move illustrates the concept of a rebrand. While abandoning a channel with millions of followers is rare, Vestergård argued that the higher engagement and personal satisfaction on the new platform outweigh the benefits of a larger, less active subscriber base.
This phenomenon is often linked to the YouTube algorithm, which can sometimes favor newer, high-engagement channels over older ones with dormant followers.
Vestergård, 31, first rose to international fame through his high-energy Minecraft collaborations, most notably with American creator SSundee and later as part of the “Robust” trio with Jelly and Slogo.
Since joining the platform in 2014, his main channel has amassed over 5.6 billion views. Despite the farewell to the MrCrainer brand, Vestergård assured his audience that he is not deleting the archive of videos, which includes over 10 years of gaming history and milestones such as reaching 1 million subscribers within his first year of uploading.
