An Audience with Havok

About Niche Content, Community Engagement, and Being a “Big Unc”

Welcome to An Audience with… where we engage with content creators, both big and small, to discuss their careers, influencer marketing, and what makes or breaks good content. 

With this series, we aim to showcase the diverse journeys and platforms of the talents we work with, revealing how each is shaping their unique path in the influencer landscape. Whether you’re just starting out as a content creator yourself or if you’re a brand looking for the next talent to partner with, An Audience with… introduces you to the talents behind the screens.

In this edition, you'll read about Havok, who defies the typical mid-20s gamer stereotype and has carved out his own niche in gaming with For Honor PVP content.

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as a gaming creator. What inspired you to start making content, and why did you start making For Honor focused content?

I've always been a gamer my whole life, but I never really had any aspirations to become a creator.

In 2016, during the Dark Souls era, I discovered a love for creating videos and cinematic content using the free-cam mod. My channel started to gain a small amount of traction, and I enjoyed it. 

I was massively into PvP at the time, so I thought I'd use this newfound popularity to do some PvP tournaments, which is what I based my channel on at the start. I gained around 3,000 subscribers just by doing PvP and tournament content.

Then For Honor was announced and most of the Dark Souls PvP enthusiasts took a liking to it. I thought that was the next big step in terms of PvP, I took the opportunity to really start creating content on a brand new game and tried to make a name for myself. 

I fell in love with it instantly, and now 9 years later, I’m still here, the devs are still supporting the game and I still love it.

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You're an older gamer in a space often dominated by younger creators. Does that affect the content you create and your community? How does your life experience influence your approach to content creation?

I think it does. Because I’m older and more mature than most, people tend to look up to me a lot. 

I have a calm nature and commentary style. I’m told that people enjoy watching me play and listening to me after a long, stressful day at work. 

They keep calling me "Big Unc" so I’m guessing that's the role I play in their life, haha! I just embrace it, really, and keep doing what I’m doing.

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What's your philosophy on building and maintaining an engaged community? How do you foster a sense of loyalty and connection with your audience?

I make them feel like more than just a username, a comment, or a like. I take the time to respond to comments and engage with people on Discord. 

My viewers know that I will always read their comments, and I try my best to answer as many questions as I can. 

It's important to me not to just post a video and then forget about it and the people who take the time out of their day to watch it, drop a like or a comment.

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Your channel's content is mostly about For Honor, which is a game that was released in 2017. What are the advantages and disadvantages of focusing on what some would consider a niche title in 2025?

Advantages are that I have built a solid viewer base and loyal people who will watch me no matter what I post, with the relationship I’ve built over the years. 

I know when I post something else, it's not as many views as my For Honor videos, but I know that at least some people will watch it, and that will give it at least a base to build off and help it reach those people who are looking for that specific game. 

For example, when Elden Ring was released, a lot of my For Honor audience also played Elden Ring and Dark Souls games as these communities tend to overlap. That helped my Elden Ring videos to take off and reach people who watch only Elden Ring, and not For Honor, so my views on those videos were always very good.

When there’s another game that the For Honor audience can relate to, it's very advantageous.
But it can also be confining because there is really no other game like For Honor. 

So, unless something comes out that is similar or a For Honor sequel, it is hard to branch out fully if I wanted to.

If I wanted to become a variety content creator down the line, I would have a small base that would support me, but I’d have to build on that for a long time and need a lot of luck to succeed.

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You get rebooked by sponsors frequently. In your opinion, what makes a long-term, rebooked partnership so much more effective than a one-off campaign? What do you do to ensure those relationships are successful?

It's important to be fast and efficient with getting the ads done, and with minimal fuss. If clients make mistakes or ask for lots of changes, it's important not to get frustrated and be understanding. 

You're getting paid to do a job, so you want to do it properly, to the best of your ability, and be professional.

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What's a common misconception about being a gaming influencer that you'd like to clear up?

I think a common misconception about gaming influencers is that we "just play games all day" and that this job is easy, it's really not! 

Gaming is only a small part of the work: we have to record and edit the videos, do all the thumbnails, community engagement, have a social media presence, and then, of course, when we get sponsors, we have to do those. 

It takes a lot of time and effort if you want to be successful.

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What advice would you give to smaller creators who want to build a sustainable career in influencer marketing, even if they don't have a massive following?

You have to enjoy what you're doing! 

For the long run you need to be having fun, and not just focus on numbers and analytics but building a solid community. 

Also, over the years, I have found that consistency is key with uploads and stream schedules, so your viewers have a rough idea when you're going to post or go live.

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Finally, looking to the future, what are your goals for your channel and your career?

At this moment in time, I’m unsure… YouTube is no longer my full-time job since I’m interested in building a career in IT. 

For now, I’m enjoying YouTube just being a hobby but still focusing on growing it, just in my own time. 

If a huge game comes out in the future, however, that I fall in love with like I did with For Honor, then I will potentially rethink my schedule and possibly do some IT stuff part-time instead, but it really depends if a future game captures my heart like For Honor did.