Happy 2025! – 2024 Recap & Future Plans

Hi everyone, happy 2025!

Last year, I decided to document my year on YouTube, and looking back over the stats, and the posts on here, it was quite a difficult year. Check out all the posts here: https://retrobreak.co.uk/category/recap/

I didn’t manage to hit any of the targets I set for myself, and generally didn’t enjoy making a lot of the videos I ended up creating last year. Looking at the final totals from 2024, it massively underperformed compared to the year before, and on average I was growing less than I did back in even 2021!

Here’s how the stats looked at the end of the year compared to 2023:

Here’s 2023 for comparison:

There’s only one video in 2024 which took off in the algorithm, compared to three or four from the year before, so maybe it’s not a fair comparison, and I shouldn’t beat myself up for things outside of my control..

A better comparison would be with the type of video I know me regular viewers enjoy watching, and see if there’s any improvements in those, so here’s a look at an average update video from 2023 compared to 2024:

Games I’ve been playing recently, July 2023:

Games I’ve been playing recently, Aug 2024:

Basically the same, but I do feel like I’ve been seeing more support in the comments which is nice, especially in my first video of 2025 announcing some of the future plans (which I’ll also be sharing here)

But it’s not all bad news though, I did learn A LOT, and that will hopefully mean I’m in a much better position to take on 2025!

Here’s a breakdown of some of the other stats for the year:

Here’s some of the best performing videos of the year:

So, about 2025… I’m going to put my all into it this year and make every episode something I’m happy with, and that I also think everyone will enjoy watching! So that means no more sponsored emulator reviews (zzz), or lazy stop gap videos. If I don’t have a good video lined up, I will just wait until it’s ready. I also want to try some other new things to see if I enjoy making them.

Here’s the main video topics I’m planning to make in 2025:

Top Games & Hidden Gems

Always my best performing videos, I have a bunch lined up for this year, trying to focus on handhelds still, I have written a list go Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Game Gear games to do videos on! I want tot ry and get them all physically first, so it’s a long term plan to make these, but it’s great to have some collecting goals and something to aim for!

EXP Boost

A new series which I began at the end of last year, these will include a bunch of random interesting games from my collection which I think are worth talking about, along with some fun trivia about he game or developer too. Should be fun to keep making these! In the meantime, if you want to see which games I’m including, I’m making daily posts on BlueSky, which you can find in this feed: h

https://bsky.app/profile/retrobreak.co.uk/feed/aaacmyujjtqai

Backlog Break

This one is all about playing games that have been on my backlog for a while, which I never got round to playing. I plan on attempting to do one a month, and stream my gameplay on Twitch while recording the footage for YouTube.

RetroBreak’s Hall of Fame

A series similar to Backlog Break, but for games I know and love! I’ll be sharing some of my all time favourite games, along with my memories and thoughts about what makes them so good! Again, will try to stream gameplay on Twitch / YT live whenever I have the time!

Retro Makes

After last years Game Dev video, I got really excited about the idea of making games again, and it seemed like everyone really enjoyed hearing my story and struggles, so why not put myself through the struggle all over again, but in public this time… I’ll be sharing my journey creating a new game! First episode should be out son! I’m very excited to finally put some much needed time into learning how Godot works, how to program properly, and to share my progress online too! Hopefully with the end result being a fun game that you can all enjoy!

So, what do you think about my plans for 2025?

I’m very excited and optimistic about the future of my channel, hope you’re all along for the ride!

Thanks for everything so far,

Nick