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Making it big as an Indian YouTuber is no cup of tea. And for “Ajjubhai94” of Total Gaming, the grind to create an entire community of his own from scratch has been a path laid with many hurdles.
In the present day, not only is he hailed as the most successful Free Fire content creator, but also regarded as one of the more entertaining YouTubers in the nation.
In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda Esports’ Abhishek Mallick, Ajjubhai opens up about the struggles he faced on his road to success and how his community helped him grow into one of the most influential figures in the Indian video game industry.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Q1. Ajay, first things first. Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself, who you were, and what your day-to-day life was before being hailed as Ajjubhai, one of the most influential and successful content creators in Free Fire?
Ajjubhai: I never started gaming with the thought or roadmap that I wanted to be a gamer one day. It all began when I started watching YouTube videos of renowned Indian gamers while at work (thanks to the high-speed internet there!) and slowly got linked to it and started playing.
I had seen many gamers playing PUBG on mobile, but owning a phone with limited space, I couldn’t. That is when I discovered Free Fire, which could easily be played on my phone, and it became the first game I ever played. Yes, the first! I hadn’t even played any other games before it, not even the ones on mobile.
Q2. Talk to us a bit about your Ajjubhai persona and how you envisioned and brought to life the Total Gaming YouTube channel?
Ajjubhai: Total Gaming was started with a vision to play along with the gaming community. Having no friends of similar interests, I wanted to live stream while playing the game and interact with people. Starting with 2-3 views per live session, I now witness a vast community whenever I go live. I am proud to have built a gaming community that still supports me as they were during my initial days.
Q3. You started Total Gaming in 2018, and in a short span of just over two years, you were able to amass more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube and 2.5 million loyal fans on Instagram. Was this exponential growth and popularity for both the channel and the Ajjubhai persona something you expected?
Ajjubhai: No, I had never expected to grow this big. I was just playing and creating gaming content to entertain people and realized that I had grown to be one of the biggest gamers only when I reached 8M subscribers on YouTube.
Q4. You are by far one of the most successful Indian Free Fire content creators on YouTube. What would you say sets you apart from the rest of the nation’s YouTubers, who are still trying to make a name for themselves in Garena’s IP?
Ajjubhai: It is majorly the candid and clean content that I make. I believe in having fun while playing games and creating a cozier community with clean content (no cuss-words, please!).
Also, I like to connect my gaming videos to real-life situations that other gamers face while playing games on their phones and PCs.
Q5. I am aware that a significant portion of your popularity stems from the mystery surrounding your actual identity. You are yet to reveal your face and full identity to fans ever since Total Gaming came into existence. Is there a reason why you chose to keep silent on who you are and where you come from?
Ajjubhai: I have another professional life apart from gaming. Also, people recognizing me at public spaces post face revelation will make things awkward for me. I’ll undoubtedly reveal myself once I further grow and pursue gaming as a full-time career option.
Q6. So tell me, why Free Fire? There are no shortages of sandboxed battle royale games for both the PC and mobile platforms in this day and age. What about Garena’s title makes you want to stick to it so much that you are continually creating new and unique content on it?
Ajjubhai: I initially wanted to play PUBG, but the phone that I was owning didn’t allow me to play that. So, I chose to play Free Fire, and now, it is more of an emotional connection for Free Fire. It was the first game that I ever played, and I just want to play that more often.
Q7. I would really like your thoughts on the Free Fire x PUBG Mobile debate. What would you say are the major differentiating factors between the two, especially in terms of gameplay and the unique audiences they attract?
Ajjubhai: Graphics put aside, I would say Free Fire is more accessible on most mobiles. Therefore, it has a very diverse audience set. Also, I do not understand this debate between Free Fire x PUBG Mobile, let people just play what they want to play. Personally, I would love to play all games to keep myself and my audiences entertained.
Q8. Free Fire is known to make some incredible collaborations every time the devs decide to add additional content to the game. How do you feel about the partnership that the game recently did with Christiano Ronaldo and One Punch Man? Which have been your favorite collaborations so far?
Ajjubhai: I really liked that collaboration. It is something I aspire to. I do not want to talk about one favorite collab, as all are close to my heart. They were different in their ways.
Q9. Apart from Free Fire and Minecraft, what other games do you enjoy? Is there a single-player title which you are very fond of?
Ajjubhai: Apart from Free Fire and Minecraft, GTA is something I enjoy playing. I have received a great response from the audiences for my 3-4 GTA videos. I haven’t played any single-player game, so right now, none.
Q10. The return of PUBG Mobile to India seems quite dubious at this point. However, if it eventually makes the journey back, how much do you think it will affect the Free Fire player base and the esports scene as it stands today?
Ajjubhai: It definitely did affect the gamers who were only playing PUBG Mobile. Having said that, I see that there is tremendous opportunity for other games to flourish and grow now. People will be more open to playing newer and more games.
Q11. Do you feel Free Fire has significantly benefited from the sudden PUBG Mobile ban in India? Or do you think it was some other mobile game that was the biggest beneficiary out of it?
Ajjubhai: Yes, I do feel so. Many moved to Free Fire after the PUGB Mobile ban.
Q12. Riot Games has announced the arrival of the mobile version of League of Legends in India in just a few months. Can fans of Total Gaming look forward to you trying out the game once it officially launches? Or are you not a big fan of MOBA games?
Ajjubhai: I’ll surely give it a try and will play more if I like it.
Q13. What’s the future like for Total Gaming? Will you be expanding your content to other titles, or will Free Fire continue to be your primary focus for the time being?
Ajjubhai: I am looking forward to playing more games, but that needs more time, which is challenging. Having played Free Fire for so long, it’s a bit easy to generate content. But, yes, I am looking forward to exploring more new games in my free time.
Q14. What are your thoughts on the current Indian mobile esports industry? What position do you feel does Free Fire hold in it?
Ajjubhai: Free Fire does have a tremendous opportunity to flourish in the Indian market, mostly because of its accessibility and functionality.
Q15. How far do you see Indian esports growing in the coming years? Both on PC and mobile.
Ajjubhai: The COVID19 pandemic has given a great boost to PC gaming; it was fascinating to see that the Indian gaming and esports industry are here to grow exponentially, with many games and gamers coming in each day.
The industry will only take the shape of a giant mammoth, and I would just like to say that whatever we have seen till now is just a trailer. The real growth is yet to be seen.
Q16. Any last words for your fans for their unwavering support and love for you?
Ajjubhai: I would, of course, want to thank them for their constant support. It is with their love that I have come this far.
“Play whatever makes you happy” is what I want to say to all the aspiring gamers.
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