MrBeast’s ambitious reality competition show Beast Games premiered on Amazon Prime Video this week, and clips of the game show circulating on social media highlight just how intense the controversial “biggest game show in history” was.

In one clip, participants’ screams can be heard echoing as they fall through trap doors that randomly open. Participants waiting for their turn to fall have an anxious expression on their faces, anticipating the impending fall.

At one point, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, asks a line of 80 participants to get out at the same time.

“The production of ‘Beast Games’ is crazy,” Dexerto, which covers gaming and entertainment news, wrote in an X post about the clip.

Backstory of “Beast Games”

In March, Donaldson announced that he had teamed up with Amazon Studios to make “the biggest game show in history.”

The reality competition series would feature 1,000 contestants, feature a $5 million reward and be “a crazy show,” he said on X.

Appearing on The Colin and Samir Show, Donaldson, who runs the most followed channel on YouTube, said the series would be “stunning.”

“Each of these episodes will be bigger than the biggest YouTube video I’ve ever made,” he said. “It’s like our regular videos, only 20 times better.”

Based on early reactions to “Beast Games,” the game show is just as intense as Donaldson intended.

“Seeing everyone’s reaction to Beast Games is great,” Donaldson wrote on X on Thursday.

Reviews of “Beast Games”

Some “Beast Games” viewers expressed their appreciation for the “crazy” show and Donaldson, while others criticized him and compared the series to “The Hunger Games.”

• “The ending of episode 2 is the most INSANE cliffhanger of any competition show,” one fan wrote on X. “This is way better than Netflix’s Squid game show.”

• “Beast Games isn’t a game show – it’s a psychological thriller. “Very uncomfortable watch,” another viewer wrote.

• Another viewer said: “Please get this right. Mr. Beast is a (villain). I’ve seen this story before and it was called The Hunger Games.”

• “Say what you will about Mr. Beast, he knows how to host a game show,” one fan said.

• “Is it just me, or does ‘Beast Games’ seem insanely sick and twisted?” asked one viewer. “Half of the ‘challenges’ are just psychological social experiments. The “entertainment” is watching poor people suffer in their desperation.”

• Another said: “#MrBeast’s new Amazon game show #BeastGames is completely insane.”

“Beast Games” controversy.

During production, Beast Games faced allegations of poor conditions on set, as previously reported by the Deseret News.

Some participants and crew members claimed there were food and water shortages, safety issues and unfair gaming during filming in Las Vegas, Vital Vegas reported in July. They claimed that some participants were injured during filming.

A representative for MrBeast called these claims “inaccurate,” according to Vital Vegas.

Further allegations emerged in September.

According to a Rolling Stone report, crew members claimed that Donaldson had received more than he could handle with the Beast Games project.

Crew members claimed there was not enough food and raised other safety concerns.

“It’s a Fyre Fest feeling,” a crew member who worked in Toronto and left the production early told Rolling Stone. “There’s a reason this level of production has never been attempted before, and it certainly shouldn’t have been attempted without people who know what they’re doing.”

Where can you watch “Beast Games”?

“Beast Games” is available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

The first two episodes premiered on Thursday and are now available to stream.

New episodes will be released on Amazon Prime every Thursday at 10am MST until February 13th. The series has 10 episodes.

Beast Games is not available to watch on YouTube.