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Chapters7
Discusses Mixtape allegedly being an astroturfed indie project funded by the daughter of Larry Ellison and the perception of it as a legitimate indie release.
Asmongold breaks down a viral indie game controversy, accusing Mixtape of astroturfing and industry manipulation tied to the Ellison family and Annapurna Interactive.
Summary
Asmongold breaks down the Mixtape controversy with a sharp, skeptical eye. He argues the indie game wasn’t a genuine grassroots sensation but an astroturfed project tied to Megan Ellison, daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison. According to the clip, Mixtape allegedly received lavish, undisclosed promotions—complete with paid reviews and gift packages for creators, including a functioning CD player and retro headphones. The stream highlights the role of Annapurna Interactive in funding and promoting the game, and notes the game’s surprisingly heavy licensed soundtrack, which contradicts the indie label. Asmongold points to public lines of evidence like the “industry plant” framing and the conspicuous dissonance between glossy reviews and the game’s modest player count. He questions the legitimacy of coverage and suggests reviewers who aren’t on the payroll may not be reliable sources. The video also touches on broader themes like licensing costs, funding sources, and the ethics of influencer promotion. Throughout, Asmongold interjects with personal anecdotes and sharp sarcasm, while wrestling with the idea that big-money backing can distort indie visibility. The overall takeaway is a cautionary note about where trusted game recommendations come from in an era of complex sponsorships and shadowy marketing tactics.
Key Takeaways
- Mixtape is alleged to be an astroturfed project tied to Megan Ellison, daughter of Larry Ellison.
- Promotional packages allegedly included a functioning CD player and retro headphones sent to creators, with undisclosed sponsorship.
- Annapurna Interactive is identified as a financier, with the project described as a nepo-backed venture.
- The game’s soundtrack relies on extensive licensed music, which contradicts the indie branding and suggests high licensing costs.
- Asmongold questions the reliability of traditional reviewers when funding or associations may be hidden.
- The discussion compares Mixtape to Stray, highlighting how big-name backing can influence visibility and reception.
- Viewers are urged to scrutinize sponsorship disclosures and seek information beyond paid promotional content.
Who Is This For?
This is essential viewing for gamers and creators who rely on reviews and influencer coverage. It’s particularly relevant for indie developers and fans trying to discern genuine grassroots buzz from paid promotion and industry influence.
Notable Quotes
""This game is like crazy astroturfed.""
—Asmongold cites the core claim that Mixtape’s popularity is manufactured.
""100% paid reviews and illegally doing so, but it's being covered up.""
—Alleges undisclosed sponsorship and fake endorsements.
""Mixtape is an industry plant and you can't convince me otherwise.""
—Strong statement framing the central accusation.
""The lists are fake. Yeah, but I bet he's probably got at least like some money though, right?""
—Skeptical riff on wealth and influence surrounding the project.
""If you buy Mixtape, you are directly contributing to the ecosystem that has allowed the... genocide of Palestinians.""
—Controversial digression used to illustrate the political entanglements discussed in the clip.
Questions This Video Answers
- How do industry-funded games get promoted without clear disclosures?
- What is Annapurna Interactive’s role in indie game publishing and promotions?
- Who is Megan Ellison and what is her connection to Mixtape?
- Why do licensed soundtracks complicate indie game budgets?
- Are indie games truly indie when backed by billionaire-backed funding?
Mixtape (video game)AstroturfingAnnapurna InteractiveMegan EllisonLarry EllisonLicensed music in indie gamesInfluencer marketing in gamingGame industry sponsorships
Full Transcript
So, this video game, the screenings of Mixtape, this is the game. Apparently, the person who was involved with the game was the daughter of one of the richest guys in the world, Larry Ellison. Like, I didn't even know this was true, but like, apparently, it's a literal industry plant. And so, all these different studios giving it super high reviews, little indie game, it has more licensed music than your $100 million Hollywood film, but totally normal for an indie studio to pay for these songs, they all do it. And so, anyway, I'll go back and show you guys some more of this, because apparently, this game is like crazy, crazy astroturfed.
So, take a look at this. So, this was the this is the package they sent him. Oh my god. Wow. And they sent these out to tons of creators. They're 100% paid reviews and illegally doing so, but it's being covered up. Dude, this guy totally like these Mixtape packages that they sent out, a full-functioning CD player and retro headphones straight from the game. This is so cool. Yeah, look at this here, Annie Pernia Interactive. Oh boy, it's a blatant advertisement for a product that's not being disclosed as such. Well, it's he only needs to disclose it if they gave him money for this.
I think that there's a chance they could have just kind of said like, "Hey, you know, like, we're going to send you this it'd be cool if you made a video about it and there was never like a contract made and I think that's the reason why they're getting around it. Did you get some? Why didn't they give you one? Um, I I'm not on the list of good boys. I'm on the list of bad boys and so every single time that a new game comes out like I I I can almost guarantee you that a lot of these groups of people that are advertising agencies actually hate me.
It's extremely scummy. It It's very scummy and um, what I think is funny is that, you know, this game came out and it was being pushed as if it was like this super indie game. But and like everybody's giving it nines and 10s and it turns out that it was actually just a completely astroturfed art project from the daughter of one of the richest people in the world, right? Isn't Larry Ellison like like one of the top I know he's top 10 richest people in the world, right? Top 10 richest people. What does it say right here?
I'm a little Yeah, it it is a lot of money. He got a whole ass lot of money. This Yeah, there it is right there. $244 billion. So, 244 billion. That's a lot of money. You think about how much money that is. That's a lot. So, the lists are fake. Yeah, but I bet he's probably got at least like some money though, right? Like he's probably got at least like like probably $5 million. Like I would would say. And so, yeah, almost at 1 trillion. Yeah, Elon probably going to hit 100 like a trillion pretty soon.
He will. And there it is. So, called it. I told y'all I told y'all like so, the thing is that Oh, here we go. Published by the daughter of the fifth richest man in the world. I could just listen to this. Government funding, fully licensed soundtrack despite being quote indie, perfect scores, expensive gift sets sent to content creators, mixtape is an industry plant and you can't convince me otherwise. The thing is that what I find to be so funny about this is that so many of these developers, like people still listen to reviewers. People still listen.
The only people that you should be listening to is me. That's it. That's the only person you should be like maybe there's a few other guys out there. I think they're pretty legit on YouTube, right? I don't want to name names cuz maybe I might leave somebody out and they'll get offended. But there's a few other people, but at least you can depend on me, right? I mean there's somebody that's able to do this, man. It's embarrassing. Most humble. So does this mean that Larry Ellison So if Larry Ellison is the one that's his name, right?
Yeah, Larry Ellison. Isn't he Isn't number five a Jew? That's Larry Ellison, right? Yeah, he he's a Jew. Exactly. And so you've got a subscribe I mean I'm Judaism to interesting mythology. So you have this person, right? Interested as well. So this is basically and like this is the reason why for example, he also was the one that was going to take over TikTok, right? And he was involved in like the What was it? Like Warner Brothers or something like that buyout or something like Netflix he outbid Netflix. I forgot which big company bought out which other big company Paramount or something like that.
So now you have another another example of a He wants a monopoly. Well, it makes sense, right? I mean cuz if you have a monopoly, you make a lot of money. So I mean of course you'd want a monopoly. It's what makes sense. It's literal [ __ ] slop. Yes, they put out a game that is [ __ ] slop it like reincarnated. Oh, here we go. Yep, there it is. Mixtape is a nepo backed astroturfed game. It was developed by a small Australian studio Beethoven and Dinosaur that was funded by Annapurna Interactive headed by Megan Ellison, yet that yes that Ellison family, where her father Larry Ellison is one of the most connected to Israel's elites and donated over six Wait, he donate Wait, did he really?
Oh my god. So, wait a minute. Wait a minute, let's turn this around. Let's turn this around, boys. So, let me get this straight. So, if you buy Mixtape, you are directly contributing to the ecosystem that has allowed the, you know, by their accusation, genocide of Palestinians. And all of these game companies went along with it and they were totally okay with it. That's a reach? I know. Would they make it? Of course they would. So, let's make it ourselves. [snorts] That's right. It's interesting. That's crazy. Wow. And so, that's right, brother. If you buy Mixtape, you support Israel.
I know. I know, guys. Yeah, that's true. Absolutely. People forgot about this drama for 2 years ago. I forgot I remember the Annapurna name for somewhere else. Wait a minute. There was Wait, this isn't their first This isn't their first controversy? They also Wait a minute. Stray was the Do you remember how much this game got AstroTurfed? Guys, guys, I think I might owe an apology to Dan Bilzerian. This is This is a lot. Oh, man. Oh, jeez. [laughter] Stray was good. I like cats. But, was it so good that it was like in five different categories for like best video game?
[ __ ] no. Get the [ __ ] out of here. So, a dispute with the company owner. So, basically, Annapurna fired everybody that made this video game. And then, they hired a totally new studio to Astroturf now another video game. This is amazing. I can't believe it. Yes, 97% Steam for 77,000 reviews. No, cuz it's No, no, bro. Like, no, no, no, no. There's plenty of games that are really good. And let me see how this mixtape game is doing. Okay, here we go. So, it has 2,000 players. Now, do you think that they're going to make their money back on this game?
You know what I think? I think they don't care. I think that they [snorts] literally won't even notice it. This is like um somebody steals a quarter out of your you know, out of your piggy bank, right? They got one quarter out of it. You really going to notice the quarter being gone? Probably not, right? And so, anyway, it's a nepo passion project. Exactly. Mixtape is a truly special game. Like a highly play highly playable, high fidelity, or maybe a '90s John Hughes movie. Still thinking about it days later. You can blow things up by flipping them off.
Go play it. It's on Game Pass, too. The amount of hate this is getting proves how much the world is healing. We will heal the world with hate. We will heal the world and make the world a better place by removing every single thing that we don't like. That's the goal. Yes, exactly. And and it it needs more though? Well, that's why I went live today. That's why I went live. And you ballpark the budget on the game? No, I have no idea what the budget is because it's probably The reason why is that a sync license for for licensed music is like really really high, but there's a chance they could have gotten a good deal because of industry connections.
So, it would vastly distort the actual price of creating a game like this with this much licensed commercial music on it. So, really any sort of framing of that would be hard to look at. So, no, I don't think there's really a good way to see that or be sure of it. And thank you for going live. I know that, guys. When did your power come back on? 2 hours later. It came back on 2 hours later. And if you have hate in your heart, let it out. Yes, exactly. And so, you've got even more of this here.
Let me see if there's any more. Oh, yeah. What is this video game genre called? Dustborn Mixtape Life is Strange. Games made by failed theater kids for failed theater kids. This is the thing is like a lot of like you guys might not know this. I think I've said it like once or twice. I was actually in theater and like acting class. I was in in middle school. I was I was in plays. I played multiple roles and everything. You know, we performed and all that. Um so, I was a theater kid. I was. And you know what I did?
I went through puberty. And then I started learning about computers. And I left that silliness behind me. I never never thought about it again. Never thought it ABOUT NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT AGAIN. UH-UH, NOPE. I was done. And uh Cole's world, yes, exactly. Admitting uh the problem was the first step. Yeah, and uh you're going to watch this Stranger Things. I don't even know what the hell that is. But um anyway, so yeah, I I I was a theater kid, right? I was. And it was so it was so lame, dude. It was so lame.
Like nobody like there was like some people that were funny, but I remember a lot of my jokes and everything got cut out. Like I would make jokes about I mean in retrospect I would make jokes about like bringing gun to school, right? And like this was like honestly I I I I probably or like killing somebody at school. Like this would be like what a This is one of my favorite jokes. And so I Looking back on it, I I I should be thinking that cuz this is like, you know, like 20 years ago, 25 years ago, right?
And so like looking back on it, I'm like, "Okay, well, you know what? Actually, I um you know, I they probably I should be glad they didn't kick me out, right? Good joke. Yeah, yeah, really funny one, right?" And uh yeah, anyway. You took puberty blockers, you you'd be a theater kid forever. Um well, that's what it seems to be. You're right. And uh a musical delight from start to finish. Look at this. 4.6 million views. Oh my god, a 10 from IGN. You know this game is mega d e i woke turbo trash. You guys are so ideologically captured, it's insane.
And I love this, man. The six woke attributes in games. So, let's see if this is accurate, okay, guys? The six woke attributes. Number one, making female characters ugly. Number two, replacing male characters with female characters. Number three, removing masculinity and masculine characters. Number four, thoughtlessly cramming in as many minorities as possible. Number five, changing historical events to push current messages. Number six, softening, watering down, and removing anything controversial. I'm sorry, but this is perfect. It is. It's perfect. Like we're going to save this on the computer and I'm going to use this in the future.
I am. I'm just going to post it myself. And most based thing I've ever seen. Yes, exactly. What kind of Captain Planet is this? You put all of the different rings together and then you create Concord. Once Concord was defeated, it was dispersed into six different pieces, right? If you have the Infinity Gauntlet with all these different Infinity Stones, you snap your fingers and you turn the world gay. That's what happens.
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