Last year, we reported that YouTube superstar MrBeast and bestselling author James Patterson were teaming up for a thriller novel. Now, with their book The Most Dangerous Games arriving today, there are questions about whether the highly publicized collaboration will be a success.
According to a new report, The Most Dangerous Games has been tracking poorly in preorders, with anonymous sources close to the project claiming the book could be headed for a disappointing debut. However, another source familiar with the publishing business has pushed back on that assessment, saying the reported preorder numbers aren’t necessarily unusual for a book of this type and that the real test will come this week.
The Most Dangerous Games is the result of an unusual collaboration between two major names in very different corners of the entertainment world. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is one of the biggest creators on YouTube, while Patterson is one of the world’s most successful authors. Their decision to work together on a thriller generated plenty of attention when the project was announced last year.
Now, according to Semafor, the attention hasn’t necessarily translated into huge preorder numbers. The outlet, citing anonymous sources described as being close to the project, reported that The Most Dangerous Games was “on track to be a historic bomb.” As of last week, the book’s preorders were reportedly numbering in the four digits, which the sources claimed was only a fraction of the sales needed to justify the substantial fees reportedly paid to Patterson and Donaldson.
As of Monday, the book was ranked No. 18 on Amazon’s new releases list. But that doesn’t necessarily mean The Most Dangerous Games is destined to fail. Another source with knowledge of the project told The Hollywood Reporter that the reported preorder total isn’t unusual, particularly for a thriller, and argued that first-week sales will be much more important when determining whether the collaboration has been successful.
The source also pointed out that The Most Dangerous Games was currently sitting at No. 1 on Amazon’s mystery novels list.
When the collaboration was first announced, the novel was described as a high-octane thriller built around an extreme global competition. Here’s the logline:
A thousand strangers receive the invitation. One hundred make the cut. An unprecedented competition from MrBeast, the world’s #1 creator with more than a billion followers, and James Patterson, the world’s #1 bestselling author, where the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The Games begin in Antarctica, where one wrong step on the ice kills you, and they never let up: Shark water off a remote Chilean island, desert heat that cooks you where you stand, storm-battered peaks, and caves so black you cannot find your own hand. No rescue. No second chances. A billion dollars to whoever is still standing.
Then the terrain stops being the thing that can kill you, and the other players start. Alliances turn into ambushes. Trust becomes the sharpest weapon. And somewhere above it all, a hidden voice is watching every move, testing, deciding who deserves to survive.
Donaldson and Patterson have been actively promoting The Most Dangerous Games on social media ahead of its release. That includes a YouTube Short titled “Read My Book, You Could Win $1,000,000,” which plays directly into the kind of massive stakes competitions that have made MrBeast one of the biggest creators on the platform. Donaldson has built his online career around elaborate competitions, challenges, stunts, and enormous cash prizes, making the premise of The Most Dangerous Games a natural fit for his brand.
Patterson, meanwhile, brings decades of experience as a bestselling thriller writer to the project.
The combination makes The Most Dangerous Games an intriguing experiment: Can the world’s biggest YouTube creator and one of the world’s most successful thriller authors turn the MrBeast competition formula into a successful novel?
It’s too early to know. The reports about the book’s preorder numbers have raised questions, but the conflicting assessments demonstrate why it would be premature to declare The Most Dangerous Games a flop. The book has the star power of MrBeast and Patterson behind it, a high-concept premise built around a billion-dollar prize, and a marketing campaign that is clearly designed to reach Donaldson’s enormous online audience.
Whether that audience turns into paying readers will be the real test. The Most Dangerous Games is reaching store shelves today.
Are you interested in reading MrBeast and James Patterson’s The Most Dangerous Games? Let us know in the comments below.