# Bendy and the Ink Machine

> A free episodic horror game drew a reported 1.5 million fan-made YouTube videos.

- Owner: Joey Drew Studios (theMeatly and Mike Mood)
- Kind: Game
- Sector: Gaming
- Seed date: 2017-02-10
- Peak date: Week of Jul 20, 2017
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 38 (Niche), v1.2
- Mechanics: Response chain, Fandom mobilisation

## Summary

theMeatly and Mike Mood released Chapter One free on Game Jolt on Feb. 10, 2017. YouTubers including Jacksepticeye and Markiplier played it, fans made songs, art and cosplay, and by July Player.One reported 750,000 downloads. Four more chapters and ports followed.

## Timeline

- 2017-01-30 — theMeatly (YouTube) — theMeatly uploaded the game's reveal trailer to his YouTube channel.
- 2017-02-10 — theMeatly and Mike Mood (Open web) — The developers released the first chapter free on Game Jolt.
- 2017-02-10 — Gaming Respawn (Press) — Gaming Respawn reported that Chapter One was out that day on Game Jolt.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/bendy-and-the-ink-machine

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Bendy and the Ink Machine.” Case HIS-00437. Spread Score v1.2: 38/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00437