About YouTubePlays

YouTubePlays exists to answer one question honestly: what should a creator actually buy, install, or set up — not what pays the highest affiliate commission, and not a rewritten spec sheet with no opinion attached.

Where this started

YouTubePlays began as a much smaller project: a "Twitch Plays"-style interactive stream where chat controlled the game, built around tools like JoyCon Droid for bringing Nintendo Switch controllers into the mix. That community — and the technical rabbit holes that came with running an interactive stream — is still the reason this site exists. You can read about the original project in Gaming & Community.

Running that stream meant constantly testing capture hardware, recording and editing software, and eventually thinking about the business side of running a channel — VPNs, taxes, LLCs, the parts nobody talks about until they have to. YouTubePlays grew into a site that covers all of it.

Who's behind it

Ilyas Alseit founded YouTubePlays after years of following the creator economy from the inside — testing streaming gear, editing software, and the tools YouTubers and Twitch streamers actually rely on day to day. What started as running a single interactive-streaming project grew into a resource focused on the software, hardware, and business decisions creators face at every stage of a channel.

YouTubePlays is edited under the YouTubePlays Team byline for day-to-day articles and guides, with Ilyas Alseit setting editorial direction and reviewing what gets published. See our Editorial Policy for exactly how a page gets researched, written, and checked before it goes live.

What YouTubePlays is not

• Not a place for paid placements disguised as reviews — see our Disclaimer for how affiliate links work here.
• Not a reprint of manufacturer spec sheets — every comparison reflects an actual opinion about trade-offs.
• Not financial, legal, or tax advice — the Creator Finance section explains concepts; it doesn't replace an accountant or attorney.

Get in touch

Found something wrong, out of date, or missing? Contact us — corrections get priority over new content.