Each December, YouTube publishes a series of top ten lists to rank the most popular videos, creators, and songs of the past 12 months. From year to year, there are a few sources of stability: MrBeast has held court as YouTube’s #1 creator throughout the 2020s, gaming content has endured as a top category, and young viewers continue to drive a hefty share of platform-wide trends.
Halfway through the decade, YouTube’s culture is noticeably shifting. YouTube Shorts, a format that did not exist at the start of the 2020s, has become the primary force pushing top creators, videos, and trends into YouTube’s year-end recap.
But before we talk about Shorts’ significant impact on YouTube’s year-end reports, let’s run through what hasn’t changed. MrBeast still ranks as the top creator on the list, The Joe Rogan Experience has sustained its multi-year run as the platform’s top podcast, and Squid Game — bolstered by the launch of a new season at the end of 2024 — endured as one of 2025’s top trending topics. In a sense, YouTube’s culture looks a lot like it did in 2021, when MrBeast’s real-life Squid Game remake topped the year-end recap.
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Even MrBeast, however, has been compelled to recognize the growing influence of YouTube Shorts. As his short-form viewership surpasses his tally on the long-form side of YouTube, he is sharing space in the rankings with a handful of short-form standouts. The #2 creator on the list, CaylusBlox, represented a Roblox community that exploded on Shorts in 2025. And without any Minecraft creators in the top ten, it’s safe to say there has been a changing of the guard in the world of sandbox-style video games.
Other creators in the top ten, such as Double Date (#4), Cadel and Mia (#5), Law by Mike (#7), and Zack D. Films (#9), harnessed the power of Shorts to achieve repeated high finishes in our Global Top 50 charts. And the ranking of YouTube’s top songs of 2025 alludes to another major Shorts trend: KPop Demon Hunters. Four tracks from either HUNTR/X or the Saja Boys cracked the top ten amidst a flurry of relevant Shorts content.
Creators who consume YouTube’s 2025 rundown will have a good idea of what to do in 2026. (Hint: Keep it short.) As for the fans, they’ll get a chance to celebrate their personal viewing habits with the next phase of YouTube’s year-end celebration. A new YouTube Recap feature offers “a personalized, shareable highlight reel of your 2025 watch history highlighting your top channels, interests, personality type, and more.” So if you want to know whether you love Rumi as much as the average viewer, YouTube’s take on Spotify Wrapped can provide a succinct answer.
