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The full episode, in writing.
Right now, people are still talking about the day Jon Jafari—better known as JonTron—vanished from Game Grumps with just a single, sudden announcement, sparking a flood of confusion, speculation, and backlash that would shape one of YouTube’s most iconic channels. For fans, it was like waking up to find half of their favorite comedy duo erased overnight, and no clear reason why. But how did it get to this point, and what really happened behind the scenes? This is the full timeline of the Game Grumps and JonTron controversy.
Let’s rewind to July 18, 2012. On that day, Arin Hanson and Jon Jafari launched the very first episode of Game Grumps on YouTube. They uploaded a playthrough of Kirby Super Star, introducing a new style: two friends bantering and riffing on games in real time, with a mix of improv comedy and video game nostalgia. The idea was born out of their real-life arguments about Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters. Animator Ross O’Donovan had joked about their tendency to get “grumpy” with each other, which led Arin Hanson to pitch a show based around that dynamic. Even the name “Game Grumps” came from this inside joke.
Just two months after launching, in September 2012, Barry Kramer joined as editor. The behind-the-scenes team quickly grew, but the public face remained the same: Arin and Jon, joking, ranting, and sharing stories every day. Game Grumps became a community touchpoint for gaming fans, with episodes featuring voice acting, game opinions, and tangents about the hosts’ lives.
As Game Grumps’ popularity soared, JonTron’s own solo channel, JonTronShow, was also growing. By May 2014, JonTronShow would reach one million subscribers, but in 2012 and 2013, Jon was balancing the demands of both projects. He was also running NormalBoots, a video game entertainment website he’d co-founded with Austin Hargrave, known as PeanutButterGamer.
Everything changed abruptly on June 25, 2013. Without warning, Jon Jafari announced he was leaving Game Grumps. The announcement went public on the very same day the channel introduced not only Jon’s replacement, Dan Avidan, but also a new spin-off series called Steam Train. The double-whammy of Jon’s exit and this major programming shakeup blindsided fans. Many expressed outrage online, targeting both Game Grumps and the new hosts with backlash. Some accused the channel of poor communication, while others suspected deeper interpersonal drama.
The official reason for Jon’s departure, stated in both his and Arin’s announcement, was Jon’s desire to focus on his own channel, JonTron. But the lack of advance notice—no build-up, no months-long farewell arc—fueled rumors that something more dramatic had happened behind the scenes. The same day, fans flooded social media with speculation about possible arguments, creative differences, or even contract disputes. The channel’s decision to debut Steam Train, hosted by Dan Avidan and Ross O’Donovan, on the precise day Jon left, made many viewers feel the transition had been planned for much longer than was admitted.
The backlash was immediate and intense. Kotaku and New Media Rockstars reported on June 26, 2013, that many longtime fans were upset by both the last-minute nature of the announcement and the choice to expand the channel’s lineup at that exact moment. Some fans directed their anger at Dan Avidan, who had just joined as co-host, disliking early episodes and questioning his chemistry with Arin. Over time, however, the reaction softened as viewers warmed up to Dan’s style and the new dynamic.
Behind the scenes, Jon Jafari moved from Los Angeles to New York City in July 2013, coinciding with his Game Grumps departure. On his solo channel, JonTronShow, Jon continued to review video games, films, and internet oddities, often with surreal sketch comedy. By July 2025, JonTronShow would amass 6.48 million subscribers and over 1.4 billion views.
Meanwhile, Game Grumps—now hosted by Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan—expanded rapidly. Dan also joined the Steam Train spin-off, which focused on PC games, along with Ross O’Donovan. The channel’s output grew to three videos a day: two Game Grumps episodes and one Steam Train. New shows like Table Flip, hosted by Suzy Berhow and Barry Kramer, and Grumpcade, featuring guest YouTube personalities like Markiplier and The Completionist, broadened the brand’s reach. In 2015, Game Grumps celebrated hitting two million subscribers by launching Grumpcade, and would later develop three video games, including Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator, which launched on July 20, 2017.
As Game Grumps transformed, JonTron’s absence remained a sticking point for part of the fanbase. Rumors about “bad blood” persisted, even though both Arin and Jon periodically insisted there were no hard feelings and that Jon’s exit was simply about creative direction.
The story took a more controversial turn in 2017. That year, JonTron made a series of political comments during livestreams and online debates. On March 12, 2017, he defended a statement by an Iowa representative about immigration and U.S. civilization, sparking further controversy. He appeared on Destiny’s Twitch channel to explain his views, making several statements about race, crime statistics, and immigration. These comments were widely criticized by outlets including Gizmodo, Polygon, and The Verge, and described by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League as promoting racist myths and conspiracy theories.
Within days, backlash from both the public and the gaming industry escalated. On April 2017’s launch day of the video game Yooka-Laylee, JonTron’s voice work was removed from the final release by developer Playtonic Games as a direct response to his public statements. The update caused a wave of refund requests from fans who either opposed or supported Jon’s removal. Around the same time, NormalBoots, the collaborative group Jon co-founded, announced on May 18, 2017, that Jon would no longer be an active member, though he would remain an honorary founder.
JonTron addressed the backlash in a March 19, 2017 video, clarifying his positions and stating he did not hold racist views but regretted entering such complex topics without preparation. Despite this, his subscriber count and partnerships were affected, and many longtime fans reported feeling uncomfortable supporting his work after the controversy.
Back on Game Grumps, the channel continued to evolve, moving further away from its origins. By September 2025, Game Grumps had surpassed 5.44 million subscribers and 7.05 billion views, with Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan still leading the show. The channel expanded into live comedy, original video game development, and two published young adult novels. Writers, guest hosts, and editors like Brian Wecht, Ben Perry, and Allie Jean contributed to the channel’s massive output, while major events like GameGrumps Live and charity livestreams raised tens of thousands of dollars.
Through it all, debate in the fan community never fully disappeared. Some viewers still argue about whether JonTron’s departure from Game Grumps was truly amicable or if the sudden announcement hid deeper creative or personal conflicts. Others question how much the later political controversy should shape Jon’s legacy as a content creator, or the future of Game Grumps as an internet brand.
Fans still debate whether the real shock was the abruptness of JonTron’s exit, or the way both sides managed the story in public. And the question lingers: if JonTron had stayed, would Game Grumps have followed the same path, or would internet comedy have gone in a completely different direction?