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Asmongold
Asmongold
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Zachariah "Zack" Hoyt (born 1990), also known as Asmongold, is an American YouTuber, content creator, online streamer, and political commentator. His content was primarily focused on World of Warcraft,[1][2] but he now covers politics as well as video games and topics related to gaming culture.

Key Information

He was a co-founder and co-owner of the streaming, gaming, and content creation organization One True King (OTK), based in Austin, Texas.[3] He was also a co-owner of Starforge Systems, a computer company specializing in selling prebuilt gaming PCs.[4] He stepped down from leadership positions at both OTK and Starforge after facing backlash over anti-Palestinian comments he made on a Twitch stream.[5][6]

Early life

[edit]

Zack Hoyt was born in 1990[7] in Florida and raised in Austin, Texas.[8][9] He grew up with an interest in video games, particularly role-playing games (RPGs), and was introduced to World of Warcraft by a friend in 2006.[10] He quickly became captivated by the game and began playing it extensively.[11] Hoyt later attended college, but dropped out to focus on his streaming career.[12]

Career

[edit]

With the release of World of Warcraft Classic in 2019, Hoyt's popularity surged, and he became one of the platform's most prominent streamers in that year.[13][14] He remained one of Twitch's most popular World of Warcraft streamers during the Shadowlands launch in 2020.[15] On July 3, 2021, he played Final Fantasy XIV for the first time before hundreds of thousands of viewers.[16]

After Elon Musk was accused in January 2025 of paying third parties to boost his Path of Exile 2 account, Hoyt challenged Musk to prove that he himself had leveled a character to 97 in hardcore mode, after which Musk unfollowed Hoyt on X, removed his verification check, and posted a screenshot of their private messages. A community note under the post stated that leaking private messages without permission generally violated X's guidelines.[17][18] Musk later deleted his tweets and the two have subsequently interacted with each other on X about other topics.[19]

In November 2025, Hoyt was named in a lawsuit filed by the streamer Mizkif as a defendant alongside fellow streamer Emiru, OTK Media Inc., Mythic Talent Management Inc., and King Gaming Labs Inc. for reputational harm, lost earnings, and emotional distress.[7] The lawsuit came after Emiru accused Mizkif of "psychological and domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, sexual assault, and threats of blackmail", which was then amplified by Hoyt during his livestreams.[20]

Business ventures

[edit]

In October 2020, Hoyt co-founded One True King (OTK), a streaming and content creation organization, with other content creators, including Mizkif and Sodapoppin. In August 2022, he announced OTK's new PC building company, Starforge Systems, in collaboration with fellow content creator Cr1TiKaL.[21] The company received backlash over the high prices of their products, to which they responded by reducing their prices by $100.[22] In February 2023, Hoyt cofounded the talent agency Mythic Talent alongside fellow OTK member TipsOut, serving in an advisory capacity.[23][24] On February 21, 2025, Hoyt announced that he had stepped away from his leadership roles within the OTK organization.[25]

Political and social commentary

[edit]

In 2022, he contacted Republican senator Ted Cruz to discuss regulating loot boxes in video games. Cruz was non-committal.[26]

In early 2024, Hoyt, alongside other prominent YouTubers, aided in spreading "anti-woke" conspiracism around Sweet Baby Inc.'s work in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.[27]

In a Twitch stream on October 14, 2024, Hoyt called Palestinians "terrible people" from "an inferior culture" that "kills people for their identity" and "is directly antithetical to everything Western values stand for."[28][6][29] He also said that they "have genocide built into Sharia law right now, so, no, I'm not going to cry a fucking river when people who have genocide that's baked into their laws are getting genocided". This statement was later called a "racist tirade".[30] His ZackRawrr account on Twitch was banned for 14 days due to violating the platform's hateful conduct policy.[5] Hoyt initially made a brief apology on Twitter which was criticized by PC Gamer, stating "that quite a few people don't consider "my bad" a sufficient expression of contrition and reconsideration for espousing grossly racist attitudes".[30] Hoyt later released a more extensive apology stating he had been "slowly devolving into the most mean-spirited, rude, nasty, callous, psychopathic version of [him]self" and he would take a break from streaming. He would also step down from his leadership positions in OTK and Starforge Systems.[29][31]

By 2025, political commentary had become a major component of Hoyt's streams. On one occasion, he mocked Democratic Congressman Al Green's disruption of President Donald Trump's 2025 Congressional Address, stating that Green's actions make "people think [he's] a fucking retard." Hoyt has also expressed support for universal basic income and a constitutional right to abortion. He has said that he places no weight on "principles or morality", describing such views as "top-down ideas that are given to you by the elites."[32] As part of his political commentary, Hoyt claimed that "every trans kid is a victim of a parent with mental illness".[33] Despite Hoyt's claims that trans children have been "groomed" into being trans, he has said he would respect the pronoun choices of his own children.[34]

Scholar Adam Ruch cited Hoyt as an example of a video game critic who believed that left-leaning, "woke" perspectives were forced into video games. According to Ruch, Hoyt attributed this perceived influence of "woke" perspectives in games to the environmental, social, and governance investment principle, arguing that left-leaning games were more likely to attract investment from large fund managers.[35]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2020 Esports Awards 2020 Streamer of the Year Nominated [36]
2021 The Streamer Awards Best MMORPG Streamer Won [37]
2022 Esports Awards 2022 Streamer of the Year Nominated [38]
The Streamer Awards Best MMORPG Streamer Won [39]
2023 The Streamer Awards Nominated [40]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Zachariah "Zack" Hoyt (born June 1990 in Florida), better known as Asmongold, is an American livestreamer, YouTuber, and gaming commentator known for coverage of and other , along with reactive commentary on internet culture and politics. Hoyt rose to prominence in the late 2000s through guides on under the handle ZackRawrr, began live-streaming on in 2011 as Asmongold—though primarily on his alternate account zackrawrr since around 2021—and later expanded to the Asmongold TV YouTube channel, which has over 4.3 million subscribers and 4.8 billion views. His unscripted content addresses game design, developer decisions, and societal trends, contributing to his status among Twitch's top earners and involvement in various controversies.

Early life

Upbringing and family background

Zack Hoyt, known online as Asmongold, was born in June 1990 in Florida and raised in Austin, Texas, in a middle-class family. He grew up under the care of his mother, a housewife affectionately referred to by his streaming community as "Asmom," and his father, who worked as an employee for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Hoyt has maintained privacy regarding additional family details, with no public information confirming siblings. His parents supported his early interests, though he later described a conventional household dynamic that contrasted with his eventual career path in streaming.

Introduction to gaming and World of Warcraft

Zack Hoyt, known online as Asmongold, developed an early interest in video games, particularly RPGs. Growing up in Austin, Texas, he engaged with the Warcraft series starting in 1997, exploring strategy and narrative elements in titles predating the massively multiplayer online genre. In 2006, at age 16, a friend introduced Hoyt to World of Warcraft (WoW), Blizzard Entertainment's 2004 release that expanded the Warcraft universe into a persistent online world. He quickly immersed himself, dedicating extensive playtime to quests, raids, and character development amid ample free time in his teenage years. Hoyt's involvement intensified after persuading his mother to buy the first expansion, The Burning Crusade, in January 2007, leading to a focused routine on PvE content such as dungeons and raids. WoW became his core hobby, shaping his grasp of game mechanics, community dynamics, and progression systems—despite occasional PvP—while thousands of hours built expertise for later content creation, initially as a personal escape.

Streaming career

Beginnings on Twitch and YouTube

Zack Hoyt, known online as Asmongold, created his original channel ZackRawrr on August 29, 2008, which also serves as his alternate channel featuring a highly active and fast-moving chat, often described as one of the fastest on the platform due to large viewer counts and an engaged community; chat speed in messages per second varies by stream, with peaks reaching high rates during popular content that can make real-time reading challenging without adjustments to chat settings. He initiated content creation by uploading videos in 2009, focusing on gameplay strategies, insights, and game knowledge from his experiences as a dedicated player. These WoW-centric uploads gained initial traction, appealing to the game's community seeking practical advice during expansions like . In 2011, Hoyt began live-streaming on Twitch under the Asmongold persona as a casual hobby, emphasizing unscripted World of Warcraft gameplay, lore discussions, and real-time problem-solving from his Texas home setup while balancing a day job. This attracted a modest audience of MMO enthusiasts to his candid, no-frills style, contrasting with more polished gaming content. By 2014, Hoyt increased his Twitch commitment, announcing plans for consistent, higher-quality streams and shifting to a structured schedule centered on WoW raiding, leveling guides, and community interactions. His viewer base grew gradually through YouTube cross-promotion, though he paused video uploads to prioritize live content's immediacy over edited formats.

Rise to prominence and content focus

Asmongold, whose real name is Zack Hoyt, began uploading gameplay videos to in 2009, focusing on casual content without major monetization expectations. He started sporadic live streaming on in 2011, adopting a consistent schedule from June 15, 2014, that combined gameplay with discussions of mechanics, lore, and critiques. This approach, marked by direct commentary, appealed to players seeking perspectives distinct from official content. Prominence grew in 2019 with the Classic launch, a re-release of the original version, as he reached over 260,000 concurrent viewers at peaks and became a leading MMO streamer. This stemmed from guild leadership, solo challenges, and analyses of design flaws, attracting viewers critical of 's recent expansions. By 2020, amid the Shadowlands release, he retained top status among streamers, with viewership increases linked to mythic raids and community events. Content emphasized through extended sessions highlighting strategy, such as build theorycrafting and difficult encounters, alongside commentary on player actions, developer choices, and industry developments. In contrast to speedrunning or esports-focused streams, his coverage addressed common challenges like resource gathering and guild interactions, reflected in over 32,000 in-game hours by mid-2019 per character records. This priority on detailed analysis over lighter formats established him as a representative for experienced players during the game's subscription decline.

Evolution of streaming style and collaborations

Asmongold's early streams around 2011 focused on intensive gameplay, including live raiding, character leveling, and in-game guides. This style emphasized technical expertise and endurance through long, unscripted sessions that appealed to dedicated MMO players. By 2015, he discussed channel updates centered on WoW progression, underscoring a niche, gameplay-driven approach. The August 27, 2019, launch of boosted viewership, establishing him as 's top non-partnered streamer via authentic reactions and community engagement. Post-2019, frustration with 's expansions—especially in 2020—shifted his content toward "salt streams" critiquing game design, reactions to WoW news, historical retrospectives, and industry developments. Evident from 2018 reaction videos, this evolution broadened to commentary on gaming trends, prioritizing discussion-based streams with viewer interactions and clip reviews over pure gameplay. This shift incorporated collaborations, starting with informal WoW raids alongside long-time associate Sodapoppin to add social dynamics. As his audience grew, these expanded into organized events and OTK-affiliated streams post-2020 featuring panel debates on gaming topics. By 2025, they included high-profile efforts like a proposed streamer awards show with Adin Ross announced in October, alongside his June entry into Kick's partner program for multistreaming—enabling simultaneous broadcasts on multiple platforms without exclusivity. These changes diversified content from isolated playthroughs to collaborative, reaction-heavy formats, sustaining engagement amid WoW's declining popularity while fostering cross-community ties.

Business ventures

Formation of One True King (OTK)

One True King (OTK), a content creation and media organization based in Austin, Texas, was established on October 11, 2020, by Twitch streamers Zack "Asmongold" Hoyt, Matthew "Mizkif" Rinaudo, Tim "Esfand" Esfandiari, Tips Out, and Rich Campbell. The founders announced the venture via a collaborative YouTube video, emphasizing joint content production and a shared lifestyle brand for gaming enthusiasts. OTK sought to build a network of aligned creators for versatile online content, including streams, videos, and events, while favoring creator autonomy over traditional esports models. As a "lifestyle organization" distinct from competitive teams, it drew on the founders' audiences—such as Asmongold's World of Warcraft analysis and Mizkif's variety streaming—to pursue scalable media projects. Early activities encompassed joint broadcasts, branded merchandise, and peer-led initiatives that avoided rigid hierarchies. By late 2020, OTK added Nmplol on October 27 as its first new member to expand content diversity. It rapidly emerged as a leading Twitch creator collective, gaining partnerships and sponsorships aligned with its gaming focus while retaining a non-corporate setup to ensure member independence.

Other entrepreneurial activities and revenue streams

Asmongold co-founded in August 2022 with other content creators and industry professionals to manufacture and sell customizable, high-performance prebuilt gaming PCs targeting gamers seeking reliable hardware without self-assembly, leveraging the founders' influence to market systems with components like series GPUs. In October 2024, Asmongold mutually parted ways with Starforge following internal discussions, ending his ownership stake amid external pressures related to his public statements. Additional revenue derives from sponsorship agreements with gaming peripherals, software, and tech firms, often integrated into his content but negotiated as independent deals. These partnerships, alongside merchandise, supplement platform-based earnings, though specific deal values remain undisclosed; estimates place his overall diversified income in the multimillion-dollar range annually as of 2025. No further major investments or startups have been publicly confirmed post-Starforge.

Political and social commentary

Emergence of commentary in streams

Asmongold began incorporating social and political commentary into his streams through incidental reactions during gameplay, evolving to a more structured format. Early examples occurred in 2017 with comments on survivors, leading to a brief suspension for violating hateful conduct guidelines. These digressions into current events remained sporadic amid gaming content. He launched his secondary Twitch channel, zackrawrr, on July 7, 2020, to formalize dedicated commentary streams. Unconstrained by the focus of his primary asmongold channel, it allowed discussions of news, trends, and cultural issues in a relaxed style, reacting to viewer-submitted posts and drama. zackrawrr streams critiqued gaming industry practices, media narratives, and social dynamics, extending prior reactions like his 2019 responses to videos framing developers and media against gamers, which highlighted perceived biases in gaming coverage. By 2022, commentary addressed explicit social topics, such as a stream reacting to a video claiming "cancel culture destroyed an entire generation" and its effects on public discourse and accountability. This aligned with rising viewer interest in culture-war issues like celebrity trials and online censorship, drawing larger audiences drawn to his candid approach. In contrast to scripted political content, Asmongold's style emphasized real-time reactions—often casual or clip-prompted rather than proactive—marking a natural shift from gaming critiques to broader observations. The authenticity appealed to viewers, boosting concurrent numbers on controversial subjects, though it drew platform scrutiny and later suspensions.

Core views on culture, politics, and society

Asmongold criticizes policies as discriminatory against men and harmful to merit-based systems in gaming. In a November 2024 stream, he argued that DEI prioritizes women over qualified men in hiring, fostering reverse discrimination and eroding competence. He contends that DEI and "woke" elements impose ideological conformity, degrading video game quality by prioritizing agendas over storytelling and entertainment, with examples from affected titles. These views arise from industry trends, where he claims forced representation yields inferior products, backed by falling sales for some DEI-influenced releases in gaming reports. Politically, Asmongold supports a hybrid economy mixing incentives with safety nets, viewing pure ideologies as flawed and balance as ideal. He critiques both U.S. parties but aligns more with conservative concerns over government overreach, including border security and immigration as risks to stability. In July 2025, he warned of unchecked migration's dangers, such as resource strain and cultural erosion without vetting. He welcomed 's 2024 election win while decrying 's post-election comments as divisive. His February 2024 self-assessment placed him as moderately right-libertarian, emphasizing limited government and individual freedoms over collectivism. In societal matters, Asmongold emphasizes , warning against laws such as the UK's Online Safety Act that he regards as enabling censorship under the pretext of safety. He views internet real ID requirements for social media as inevitable and has suggested a government authentication token system to verify identities while protecting user data from corporations. On international issues, he has expressed limited sympathy for Palestinian civilians, attributing regional conflicts to cultural and moral failings in involved societies rather than solely external factors. These positions reflect an emphasis on causal accountability—prioritizing empirical outcomes like crime rates linked to immigration surges or innovation stifled by ideological quotas—over narratives from biased institutional sources, which he dismisses as detached from real-world data.

Major controversies and responses

Asmongold faced blacklisting in due to his criticism of the Chinese government and support for issues like . In October 2024, Asmongold faced backlash for comments on his zackrawrr Twitch channel describing Palestinian culture as "inferior" and expressing limited sympathy for civilian deaths in the , which he claimed was "completely made to genocide," while citing over 42,000 deaths reported by the -run health ministry since October 7, 2023. The remarks violated 's policy against expressions of inferiority based on protected characteristics, resulting in a 14-day suspension. Streamers like BrookeAB labeled them "straight up racism," and HasanAbi criticized them without retraction. Asmongold apologized on for generalizing the population and using imprecise wording, clarifying his intent targeted and religious extremism rather than Palestinians broadly, and pledged better rhetoric; he also stepped down from leadership at (OTK) and ended ties with Starforge Systems to shield collaborators. By February 2025, his political commentary had strained OTK sponsor relations and led to member harassment, resulting in a mutual departure. This followed remarks defending scrutiny of certain modern content by comparing it to aspects of Nazi book burnings, which critics portrayed as Nazi sympathy; Asmongold refuted this, stressing his critique of cultural outputs. Amid backlash over "divisive" content, including support for policies, he maintained it was unscripted and vowed to continue unfiltered reactions despite pressures, expressing confidence in avoiding bans. In August 2025, Asmongold reacted to the indie game Take Us North, a -presented narrative on U.S.-Mexico migration, dismissing it as "propaganda" due to its portrayal of illegal immigration and questioning its research-based aim to shift perspectives. Developer Anima Interactive deactivated its X account amid scrutiny, eliciting divided responses—some praised his candor, others alleged misrepresentation; highlighted potential funding ties, though no confirmed effects on the game surfaced. In September 2025, after a Utah campus shooting, Ed Krassenstein reported Asmongold to the , linking it to his online activity promoting hostility; Asmongold responded on X, calling it a "pathetic attempt" to exploit sympathy and accusing the Krassensteins of inciting violence via "8647 t-shirts" and coded messages, while denying threats. In January 2026, Asmongold criticized streamer QTCinderella for selling "F*CK ICE" stickers and opposing U.S. , portraying her as a privileged white individual in a gated community ignorant of illegal immigration realities and engaged in virtue signaling. The comments drew backlash for hypocrisy. Asmongold has defended his commentary as authentic responses to cultural and political matters, resisting changes despite accusations of racism or extremism.

Personal life

Relationships and lifestyle

Asmongold (real name Zack Hoyt) dated Twitch streamer Izzy G., known as Pink Sparkles, from August 2018 to their breakup on December 15, 2019. The relationship ended due to personal differences, including mismatched expectations and hygiene habits, as he later reflected publicly. No subsequent long-term partnerships have been confirmed, despite unverified early 2024 rumors linking him to streamer Kaise. As of 2025, he remains single, expressing preference for focusing on streaming over relationships. Hoyt lives in Austin, Texas, in a cluttered space he has described as "living like an animal" for over a decade, rooted in early gaming habits. Mental health challenges, not financial limits, drive irregular cleaning, fast food reliance, and consumption of up to 12 Dr Pepper cans daily instead of water, despite his earnings. He avoids alcohol and recreational drugs, citing simplicity as key to sustaining content creation. Streamed cleaning efforts show self-awareness but limited lasting change.

Family health crises and streaming hiatuses

In 2021, Asmongold took an indefinite hiatus to address his mother's advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), exacerbated by long-term smoking and obesity. Earlier that year, he rescued her from severe burns caused by a fire from her oxygen tank, linked to her respiratory needs; he briefly returned before pausing again during her hospitalizations. His mother died in late October 2021, leading to further pauses; in a November video, he discussed her 70 years of health issues and his financial support through streaming earnings. In August 2025, amid burnout and his father's initial liver problems progressing to pancreatic cancer, Asmongold considered a six-month streaming break. On September 8, following his father's hospitalization for abdominal pain, he announced an indefinite hiatus to focus on diagnosis and treatment. His father died days later, with the death announced on September 18. He resumed daily streams on October 1 after about one month, with no further hiatus planned, describing the events as "medical turmoil" demanding his involvement and prioritizing family over content creation. These family emergencies have repeatedly disrupted his schedule since his career began, a pattern he attributes to using streaming income for family care rather than professional demands.

Reception and legacy

Achievements, awards, and influence

Asmongold's primary channel, Asmongold TV, reached 1 million subscribers in March 2022, earning a Gold Play Button. He received the Best Streamer award at the 2023 , organized by QTCinderella, for his contributions to streaming. His channel ranks among the platform's top earners and most-subscribed, driven by long-form gaming and commentary. Asmongold co-founded () in October 2020 with streamers like Mizkif and Sodapoppin, building it into one of 's largest content creator groups focused on collaborative production and talent management within two years. later added ventures such as Mythic Talent, which Asmongold co-founded in 2023 for streamer representation. He stepped back from leadership in October 2024 and departed fully in February 2025, though his role aided the group's early success in streaming entrepreneurship. Asmongold influences gaming discussions through critiques of corporate practices, game design, and industry shifts, acting as a voice for gamer concerns on issues like over-monetization and ideological elements. His commentary extends gaming into political discourse, using his reach to spark debates on game launches, streamer ethics, and broader events, often fueling viral trends and demands for accountability.

Criticisms, defenses, and cultural impact

Asmongold has faced criticism for comments seen as promoting cultural superiority and insensitivity to conflict victims. In October 2024, during a Twitch stream, he called Palestinian culture "inferior" and showed indifference to civilian deaths in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, linking it to Sharia law practices like genocide and child marriage. These statements led to a 14-day Twitch suspension for hateful conduct and discrimination. Streamers like BrookeAB labeled them "straight up racism," and OTK co-founder Rich Campbell called them dehumanizing. Asmongold responded with a partial apology on X and YouTube, saying "I'll do better" and that "no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressive," but later signaled minimal changes. The fallout included professional steps back from leadership at Mad Mushroom—due to conflicts with its diversity mission—and from OTK Media and Starforge Systems, where he described himself as turning into "the most mean-spirited, rude, nasty, callous, psychopathic version" of himself. Critics have also faulted his views on transgender issues, such as tying youth transitions to later mental health issues without retraction, and his DEI critiques in gaming, which some see as echoing far-right ideas. In defense, Asmongold has maintained that his content reflects unfiltered observations rather than ideology, positioning himself as non-partisan by supporting policies like universal basic income and abortion rights while rejecting elite-imposed norms. Following backlash, including sponsor pressure campaigns and hate threads, he affirmed in February 2025 that "none of it is gonna make me stop," committing to continued politically charged streams, such as reactions to Donald Trump's addresses, without violating platform rules. Supporters view his persistence as authentic resistance to censorship in gaming discourse, arguing that accusations often lack evidence and stem from trend-driven outrage rather than substantive review. Asmongold's cultural impact lies in amplifying the intersection of gaming and politics, particularly among young male audiences, where his streams—averaging over 2.2 million Twitch viewers and generating millions of YouTube clip views—frame political events through gamer lenses like "malding" or tribal "meta" strategies, contributing to a rightward shift in gaming culture post-Gamergate. His co-founding of OTK Media expanded collaborative streaming models and industry critiques, influencing trends in content creation and developer marketing, though internal tensions from his evolving political focus led to his departure in February 2025. By reacting to gaming news and cultural conflicts, he has popularized discussions on industry "wokeism" and nuance deficits, positioning streamers as key shapers of voter sentiment and accountability debates in online communities.

References

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