Mark Fischbach
Born 1989 · Age 36
Known online as Markiplier — American YouTuber, filmmaker, actor and podcaster, noted for Let's Plays of horror games, interactive YouTube Originals, philanthropy, and ventures into film and merchandise.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Mark Edward Fischbach born at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio (approx.)
After his birth the family relocated to the Cincinnati metropolitan area, where he grew up (Milford, Ohio). Year estimated from text 'after Fischbach was born'.
Met longtime friend Wade Barnes (6th grade, approx.)
Began friendship with Wade Barnes in sixth grade; later collaborator.
Graduated Milford High School
Completed high school at Milford High School (graduation year explicitly stated as 2007).
Enrolled at University of Cincinnati — biomedical engineering
Began university studies in a biomedical engineering program at University of Cincinnati.
Father Cliffton Fischbach died of lung cancer
Father's death (July 4, 2008) had a major personal and philanthropic influence on Mark's later charity focus.
Reached ~94,000 subscribers within first year
Within ~2012 the channel grew to roughly 94,000 subs in the first year.
Series of personal crises including appendectomy and adrenal tumor
In 2012 he experienced a breakup, was laid off, was kicked out by his mother, had an emergency appendectomy and was diagnosed with an adrenal tumor — factors that contributed to shifting to YouTube full-time.
First Let's Play series: Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Early and defining gameplay series; Amnesia Let's Plays were his first series and helped him grow rapidly in 2012.
Dropped out of University of Cincinnati
Left two semesters short of graduating to focus on burgeoning YouTube career.
Registered first YouTube channel (first channel created)
Registered his first YouTube account (initial channel referenced in multiple sources) intending to post sketch comedy and action videos.
AdSense issues; created new channel markiplierGAME
Problems with AdSense/monetization forced him to move to a new channel (markiplierGAME) in April 2012 and reupload/continue content there.
Uploaded first video to original channel
First video uploaded to his original channel (first uploads and early content recorded April 2012).
Created markiplier2 (secondary channel)
Second channel markiplier2 was created on April 26, 2012 for Minecraft Let's Plays and other uploads (later deleted).
Created markiplierTWITCH (archive channel)
Created markiplierTWITCH on May 24, 2012 to archive early Twitch livestreams (inactive since July 2012).
Created main channel (markiplier / markiplierGAME)
Created the main channel that became his primary presence (May 26, 2012).
Passed 100,000 subscribers (Silver Play Button)
Released a 100k subscriber special video celebrating the milestone.
Reached 1,000,000 subscribers (Gold Play Button)
Posted a 1 million subscriber celebration video on October 30, 2013.
Joined Red Giant Entertainment board
Joined the board of comic publisher Red Giant Entertainment in November 2014 and later appeared on panels with the company.
Moved from Cincinnati to Los Angeles
Relocated to Los Angeles (early 2014; fandom source cites March 4, 2014) to pursue expanded opportunities and be closer to YouTube Space.
Panel at San Diego Comic-Con and joined Red Giant Entertainment board later in 2014
Co-hosted a Red Giant panel at SDCC 2014 and joined Red Giant Entertainment's board of directors in November 2014.
Uploaded first Five Nights at Freddy's Let's Play
Posted his Five Nights at Freddy's Part 1 video (Aug 13, 2014) — one of his highest-impact videos; as of Nov 2023 that video had over 114M views.
Co-hosted SXSW Gaming Awards and featured in YouTube Rewind; television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
In 2015 he co-hosted the SXSW Gaming Awards, appeared in YouTube Rewind and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (Sept 2015) to defend Let's Play creators.
Appeared on Smosh: The Movie (cameo) and other mainstream media
Made cameo appearances in mainstream productions (Smosh: The Movie credited 2015) and continued cross-platform appearances.
Cyndago collaborator Daniel Kyre suicide and subsequent hiatus
Daniel Kyre (Cyndago) attempted suicide Sept 2015, was taken off life support two days later; Markiplier went on hiatus Sept 17–Oct 5, 2015.
Reached 10,000,000 subscribers (Diamond milestone announced Oct 15, 2015)
Celebrated surpassing 10 million subscribers; major YouTube growth milestone.
YouTube Diamond Play Button (milestone video June 20, 2016)
Celebrated receiving YouTube's Diamond Play Button for 10 million-plus subscribers (primary source video dated June 20, 2016).
Make-A-Wish Foundation Celebrity of the Year (2016)
Received Make-A-Wish Foundation Celebrity of the Year award in 2016.
Signed with talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME)
Signed with WME in November 2016 to expand into traditional entertainment and tours.
Began living with Cyndago members in LA; faced group split mid-2016 (context continued into 2017)
Collaborations and living/creative arrangements in LA evolved; some members later parted to form SuperMega.
You're Welcome Tour (31 shows across US and Europe)
First major live tour produced while represented by WME — 31 shows mixing music, comedy and improv with longtime collaborators Muyskerm, Barnes, Tyler Scheid and Ethan Nestor.
Raised large sums for charity; Forbes reports ~$3M raised by 2017
By 2017 Forbes reported Mark and his community had raised around $3 million for various charities (mostly cancer-related).
Raised funds for niece Miranda Cracraft funeral (~$79,000)
In June 2017 he paused uploads to mourn his step-niece Miranda Cracraft, who died in a car accident; raised over $79k via GoFundMe for her funeral.
Won Golden Joystick Award — Best Streamer/Broadcaster (2017)
Won the Golden Joystick Award for Best Streamer/Broadcaster in 2017.
Voice acting role as 5.0.5 in Villainous begins (approx.)
Provided voice for the character 5.0.5 in Cartoon Network's Villainous (credited since 2017).
Exclusive Twitch content deal with Disney Digital Network
Began producing exclusive Twitch content in January 2018 as part of a deal with Disney Digital Network.
Tasteful Nudes Charity Calendar fundraiser — raised ≈$490,000
In celebration of 20M subscribers organised a 48-hour sale of 'Tasteful Nudes' calendar; raised over $490k for Cancer Research Institute.
Reached 20,000,000 subscribers
Announced reaching 20 million subscribers in March 2018 (tweeted March 30, 2018).
Launched clothing brand Cloak (co-founder)
Co-founded gaming-focused apparel brand CLOAK with Seán McLoughlin (jacksepticeye) in October 2018.
Unus Annus early growth — 1M in 5 days, ~11.5M views in first week
Unus Annus hit ~1M subscribers in its first 5 days and generated over 11.5M video views in its first week.
Released A Date with Markiplier (interactive project, 2017 initial/2019 referenced similar projects)
Created a choose-your-own-adventure style interactive project 'A Date with Markiplier' (original 2017, referenced as similar to later A Heist).
Launched Unus Annus channel with Ethan Nestor
Created Unus Annus (Latin 'one year') — uploaded a video every day for one year with promise to delete channel after 365 days.
Unus Annus final commemorative 'Memento Mori' and subsequent reflection (Nov 14, 2021)
On the first deathday of Unus Annus (Nov 14, 2021) he and Ethan uploaded 'Memento Mori' reflecting on the project and its deletion a year earlier.
A Heist with Markiplier wins Streamy Award (Scripted Series)
A Heist with Markiplier won a Streamy Award for Scripted Series at the 2020 Streamy Awards.
Received Cancer Research Institute Oliver R. Grace Award (2020)
Awarded the 2020 Oliver R. Grace Award by the Cancer Research Institute for distinguished service in advancing cancer research (recognition for fundraising).
A Heist with Markiplier released (YouTube Original interactive special)
Released Oct 30, 2019 as his first YouTube Original; interactive special produced with Rooster Teeth containing 31 possible endings (won awards 2020).
Hospitalized for small-bowel obstruction (March 22, 2015) — earlier surgery noted
Had a small bowel obstruction and surgery March 22, 2015 (routine surgery, discharged March 24, 2015) — included here as health-related milestone documented in biography.
Deleted Unus Annus after one-year experiment
Final 12-hour live stream peaked at over 1.5M concurrent viewers; channel was removed at 12:00 a.m. PST on Nov 14, 2020.
Hospitalised for intestinal obstruction (Dec 2, 2020)
Admitted and treated for intestinal obstruction via nasogastric intubation; discharged Dec 5, 2020 after monitoring.
Unus Annus wins Streamy Award (Best Collaboration) 2021
Mark and Ethan won Best Collaboration at the 11th Annual Streamy Awards for Unus Annus (award in Dec 2021).
Suffered Jones fracture (right foot) from a fall (Feb 21, 2021)
Injured right foot walking his dog, required a cast and month-long recovery.
Launched Distractible podcast (co-host) — reached No.1 on Spotify and Apple
Distractible (with Barnes and Muyskens) launched May 2021 and rose to No.1 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts' charts on launch.
Forbes lists Markiplier as third-highest-paid content creator (2022)
Listed by Forbes among the highest paid creators on YouTube in 2022 (third-highest-paid content creator on the platform that year).
Released In Space with Markiplier (YouTube Original interactive, two-part)
Interactive two-part sci-fi adventure (produced with Rooster Teeth) released in 2022; nominated for Children's and Family Emmy (Outstanding Interactive Media).
Launched Go! My Favorite Sports Team podcast (Feb 2022)
Co-launched a comedy sports podcast with Tyler Scheid in February 2022; later reached No.1 conditions discussed for OnlyFans promise.
Documentary 'Markiplier from North Korea' released (2022)
Documentary exploring his maternal family history and his mother's life story; used as part of conditions for OnlyFans launch.
Launched OnlyFans (December 9, 2022) after conditions met
Announced intentions Nov 2, 2022; launched OnlyFans on Dec 9, 2022; traffic influx caused the site to crash. Proceeds pledged to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and World Food Programme.
Signed with United Talent Agency (UTA)
Announced signing with UTA in early March 2023 as he prepared to expand scripted/film projects.
Spotify deal announced — exclusive video podcast episodes
At Spotify Stream On (March 2023) it was announced Spotify would exclusively host new video episodes of Distractible and Go! My Favorite Sports Team.
Began production on Iron Lung film adaptation (self-financed)
Deadline announced April 21, 2023 that Markiplier would direct, produce, write, star in and finance a film adaptation of indie horror game Iron Lung; production began and he cast Caroline Rose Kaplan.
Announced theatrical debut directing/producing/writing/starring in Iron Lung (TBA)
Iron Lung set as his theatrical debut where he is director, producer, writer, financier and lead actor (project active/TBA release).
Starred in The Edge of Sleep (TV adaptation) and it charted on Amazon Prime Video Top 10
Television remake of his podcast The Edge of Sleep was released in 2024 with Mark reprising his lead role; series debuted in Amazon Prime Video's Top 10 charts.
YouTube channel surpasses ~37.7 million subscribers (as of July 2025)
Wikipedia infobox (updated July 12, 2025) lists subscribers around 37.7M and over 22.7 billion views (channel scale as of mid-2025).
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