YouTube can be a completely baffling place for creators. Whether it's people abusing its copyright system, or the platform demonetizing and age-restricting videos for the lightest of swears, creators have had to constantly adapt their content to ensure they can make a living. Even then, it's sometimes not enough, as popular YouTuber RTGame has had dozens of his videos age-restricted after appealing the decision of just one.
Earlier this week, the creator's annual Best of RTGame 2022 video was age-restricted to 18+ and slapped with limited ads for "no reason." To make matters worse, shortly after having his appeal rejected, RTGame's playthrough of Supermassive title The Quarry was also age-restricted with limited ads. Another appeal and another rejection.
Shortly after, RTGame revealed a several more videos were age-restricted with limited ads, including videos featuring games like Mario Party and Persona 5, bringing the total to over a dozen. YouTube then decided to age-restrict a Lego build and a private video on RTGame's channel that was uploaded 11 years ago, giving off the impression that the platform was striking videos with little reasoning.
After speaking with a YouTube rep, RTGame then received an email telling him that the restrictions on his video would not be lifted, leaving the creator "absolutely devastated." RTGame claims that this is YouTube retroactively restricting videos that violate recent policy changes, meaning a lot more creators will be affected.
If you're wondering why age-restriction is so bad, it pretty much destroys a video's chances of being seen. Those not logged into the site will be barred from viewing age-resticted videos, meaning the general performance in terms of views goes down. Age-restricted videos are also usually slapped with limited ads, meaning revenue from them is reduced, negatively impacting a creator's income. There are no more updates at the time of writing, although other popular streamers such as Ludwig are attempting to help out.