Machinima set all videos on its YouTube channel to private

As it recently became known that the popular YouTube channel Machinima has removed all its content from public viewing. This channel known primarily for animated videos on video game engines since 2006. It currently has 12.4 million subscribers. 

Lawrence Sonntag, the former employee who had previously worked for Machinima on Inside Gaming, was one of the first who noticed the lack of the video content.

Sonntag shared the reason for the hiding of the videos during his stream on Twitch. According to him, Warner Media’s media conglomerate, which is owned by AT&T, cannot verify the copyright for thousands of hours of video. It would cost them too much money.

News about this case spread quickly across the network and users share their experiences and stories related to Machinima on Twitter under the hashtag #RIPMachinima. 

Otter Media sent Kotaku a statement about the future of Machinima:

“We are focused on creating new content with the Machinima team, which will be distributed on new channels to be announced in the coming months. In the meantime, the Machinima network of creator channels continues to showcase the talents of the network. As part of this focus on new content, we have pivoted from distributing content on a handful of legacy operated channels.”