TikTok’s close connection to the youth zeitgeist is an essential part of its pitch to potential brand partners. The app positions itself as place advertisers can go if they want to get as close as possible to the hottest cultural moments, and formats like TikTok Pulse Premiere put that tastemaking quality to work. Of course, if TikTok is going to sell its relevancy among Gen Z, it needs to stay up to date with that cohort’s rapidly changing preferences and proclivities. That’s where TikTok Next comes in. For the sixth year in a row, TikTok has issued a set of forecasts and predicted where youth culture is headed in 2026. Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

Hytale just enjoyed one of the strongest opening days in Twitch history. After launching in early access on January 13, the Minecraft-style sandbox game rocketed to the top of the streaming charts, pulling in more than 420,000 concurrent viewers shortly after its debut. That total was easily big enough to make Hytale the most-watched game on Twitch. A quick glance at Hytale streams reveals its graphical and design similarities to Minecraft, and that’s no coincidence. The game’s designers previously created Hypixel, a Minecraft server that attracted top creators like Technoblade. Hytale spent more than a decade in development, with League of Legends studio Riot Games providing support. Ultimately, the Hypixel gang reclaimed the Hypixel rights from Riot are brought their creation to market in early 2026. Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

After the conclusion of Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3 last October, the 24-year-old creator took an extended break from his Twitch account. His hiatus dragged on for so long that some of his peers speculated that he had given up streaming entirely. “Gang, how do I tell you, he retired from streaming,” Josh ‘YourRage’ Maynard said recently. “He’s done. He’s a star now, he’s gonna be in movies.” As rumors swirled around him, Cenat decided to set the record straight, but he didn’t share that update on Twitch. Instead, he published it on YouTube. In a 23-minute vlog titled “I Quit,” Cenat discussed some of his plans for the future, including the upcoming launch of a clothing brand called Vivet. Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

Savvy creators know content localization is an important strategy to grow global reach and revenue. But just how much can it grow your international audiences and monetization opportunities? Last month, we wrote about how global monetization startup Linguana partners with YouTubers to make their videos available in dozens of languages. Now, we’re going deeper by Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

Agentio’s findings from a sweeping survey of brand partnerships on YouTube can be summed up with a classic proverb: Good things come to those who wait.  Fresh off a $40 million funding round (its third round in as many years), the influencer marketing matchmaker is delving into its data. It has analyzed more than 10,000 YouTube integrations to build what it calls the “2026 YouTube Creator Marketing Playbook.” Among other insights, Agentio is letting brands know that they shouldn’t lose hope if their YouTube campaigns initially underperform.  Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.