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TierZoo
YouTube information
ChannelsTierZoo
Created byPatrick Lacey
Years active2017–present
Genres
Subscribers3.8 million
Total views446.9 million
100,000 subscribers2017[1]
1,000,000 subscribers2018[1]
Last updated: December 24, 2024[2]

TierZoo is an educational web series and YouTube channel created and hosted by Patrick "Patch" Lacey.[3][4] The series discusses animal-related topics such as wildlife ecology and evolutionary biology through a video gaming lens. It utilizes terminology and visuals that are prominent in video game culture and presents topics as if animals are players and the environments they live in are gaming servers.

The series launched on its eponymous YouTube channel in 2017, but the series also now streams on Nebula.[5] As of December 2024, the channel has amassed 3.8 million subscribers and 446.4 million views.

Format

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Many of Lacey's videos borrow terminology and visual themes found in video game culture.[6][7] An example of this includes Lacey referring to animals as "builds". RuneScape, Overwatch, and Dark Souls are specific games which Lacey borrows text from, which he overlays on his videos.[8] He also utilizes music and visual effects from Super Smash Bros., the Halo franchise, and Darkest Dungeon in his videos.[8] The core structure of Lacey's videos has him place animals in a "tier list", a concept designed to subjectively rank in-game elements (such as characters) based on their viability respective to the list. Fighting games are particularly associated with tier lists,[9] and Lacey credits the fighting game series Super Smash Bros. and its community with introducing him to the concept.[3] Tier lists became a phenomenon on Twitch and YouTube in the mid- and late-2010s.[9] He also uses visuals from animal documentaries in his videos.[7]

History

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Lacey attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied microbiology.[4][10] He graduated in 2017 and shortly thereafter launched TierZoo on July 1.[3] Lacey initially ran TierZoo as a side project while working as a food scientist for about a year before fully committing to TierZoo due to the channel's early success.[3]

In April 2018, Kotaku covered TierZoo's "Earth's Worst Balance Patch" video which discussed dinosaurs and their extinction.[10] Later that year, Lacey and many other science and education YouTube creators attended ThinkerCon in Alabama.[11] In 2019, Lacey was featured in a PBS Eons video titled "Why Male Mammoths Lost the Game".[12] The following year, he narrated an episode of Did You Know Gaming?.[13] In October 2021, Lacey participated in the Team Seas fundraiser organized by MrBeast and Mark Rober.[14]

Despite finding success with his pivot to full-time content creation, Lacey was denied the ability to rent an apartment as the landlord did not see his TierZoo venture as legitimate.[15][16] However, his online success with TierZoo allowed him to have a sponsorship deal with the Karat, a fintech credit card company, which issues credit cards exclusive to content creators.[17]

TierZoo won the Streamy Award in the "Learning and Education" category in 2023.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "tierzoo Monthly YouTube Statistics". Social Blade. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "TierZoo - About Page". Retrieved December 4, 2024 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ a b c d "About TierZoo". TierZoo. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Patrick Lacey - Content Creator - TierZoo". LinkedIn. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Were Pterosaurs Overpowered?. TierZoo. August 31, 2020. Event occurs at 6:30–8:31. Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ McKee, Spencer (August 11, 2023). "'Video game-themed' video highlights Colorado's fastest mammal species". The Denver Gazette. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Lakunishok, Sandra (2022). Virtual Tourism - The Possible Future? (PDF) (Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis). Supervised by Plöjel, Matilda; Nikolaeva, Olga; Troyan, Cassandra & Nemoto, Mirai. Linnaeus University. pp. 4–5. Retrieved September 12, 2023 – via DiVA.
  8. ^ a b Unthank, Kennedy (February 25, 2022). "TierZoo". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Paez, Danny (September 6, 2020). "How fighting games inspired a bizarre meme on YouTube and Twitch". Inverse. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  10. ^ a b D'Anastasio, Cecilia (April 13, 2018). "YouTuber's Animal Tier Lists Are Brilliant". Kotaku. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Roop, Lee (November 17, 2018). "YouTube's biggest science stars meet in Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Why Male Mammoths Lost the Game (w/ TierZoo!). Eons. PBS. December 19, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  13. ^ Pokemon & Prehistory - Did You Know Gaming? Ft. TierZoo. Did You Know Gaming?. June 27, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2023 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 29, 2021). "YouTubers MrBeast, Mark Rober Reteam for 'TeamSeas' Charity Fundraiser to Clean Up Trash From Marine Environments". Variety. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Silberling, Amanda (July 1, 2021). "A bank for the creator economy, Karat raises $26M in Series A funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  16. ^ Ma, Charley (October 13, 2021). "Fintech in the age of the influencer". alloy.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  17. ^ Weiss, Geoff (June 25, 2020). "Fintech Startup 'Karat' Raises $4.6 Million To Launch Credit Card Exclusively For Digital Creators". Tubefilter. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  18. ^ Tinoco, Armando (August 27, 2023). "Streamy Awards 2023 Complete Winners List: Dylan Mulvaney, MrBeast, Michelle Khare, Dream & Leo González And More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
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