How YouTuber Deligracy Became One of Twitch’s Top Sim Gamer

Aussie-born YouTuber Deligracy is your typical YouTuber turned Twitch streamer. With an army of 1.1 million subscribers across YouTube, she was slow to the world of streaming, but since her foray into the exploding industry, she has become a staple in the live-streaming life-simulator community. 

"I decided to get into streaming because the area was gaining popularity. It looked enjoyable and was an opportunity to interact more closely with my community," she said in an email interview with Lifewire.

"Some of my YouTube viewers came along, so I started streaming with a bigger audience from the start... I am lucky that I’m in an area of gaming that is broad and accepting of all kinds of people."

Over the years, she’s garnered an additional 145,000 followers on her Twitch channel for a combined audience of nearly 1.3 million people cultivated throughout her seven-year career.

She maintains both her YouTube and Twitch presence, and says she’s here to enjoy the naturally inventive world of content creation for as long as she can. 

Growing Down Under

Adorned in gumboots and her favorite coat, Deligracy grew up in the bush, better known as the Australian outback. Away from the bustle of the big cities like Melbourne and Sydney, she was shaped by the natural beauty of the outback which allowed her creativity and imagination to run wild.

Between the gumtrees that dotted the hinterlands to the animals native to the outback, she recalls a childhood full of exploration encouraged by her loving parents.  

"Gaming is often associated with technology; however, I believe my 'gaming' began as a child with toys, dolls, and my imagination. When we got our first family PC, I played every game like I was playing with dolls—or rather—every game for me was used as a life simulation," she said. 

Thus began her love of life-simulator video games, from Barbie’s Generation Girl Gotta Groove to more educational titles like puzzle game Zoombinis.

These types of games, she said, allowed her to express herself through storytelling and character development. Eventually, the streamer would settle on the world’s largest digital dollhouse: The Sims. 

Both her YouTube and Twitch channels are largely dedicated to content surrounding the EA powerhouse. As a child, she toyed with construction games SimTown and SimSafari before settling down with the developer’s primary titles. It was love at first playthrough. The Sims franchise became her "happy place."

Growing Pains

It wasn’t long before Madeline wanted to share her creative gift with the world. She studied graphic design at a university in Italy while recreationally enjoying video games. This paved the way for her entry to content creation.

After dealing with an illness that left her bedridden for several weeks, all that could soothe her in her worst moment was the escapism inherent in video games. Primarily, that meant life simulators, which allowed her to construct an entire life outside of the misery of a prolonged hospital stay. 

"Discovering creators interested in Sims, like Andrew Arcade, Quxxn, and The Sim Supply gave me so much joy to watch, I wanted to do something similar," she said about her early start.

"When I got home from Italy, I utilized my graphic design skills and started creating Sims videos while I recovered from my sickness. I was experiencing acute anxiety and [creating] was a source of joy and distraction during that difficult time."

It wasn’t long before she started experiencing gains from her content. With her background in design, even her early videos had an air of professionalism often unassociated with a creator’s initial content.

She started as what is known as a builder in the community before deciding to put her personality on full display in Let’s Play videos. The thirst for a greater connection and more Deligracy grew, which prompted her to start her streaming career on Twitch. 

Today, she has a massive audience across social media platforms, where she has become one of the most popular figures in the Simmer community for those seeking lively, carefree content. 

But with that comes burnout—something a lot of digital creatives who put their lives on display for the world often bemoan. 

Between the global pandemic and the death of her 98-year-old grandfather last year, things have been challenging for the streamer. She’s accomplished a lot over her multi-year career and, for the first time in a while, she said, her only commitment is to happiness. 

"Although 2021 has been a slower year from a content perspective, it is a year that I’m focused on being kinder and patient with myself," she continued.

"You reach a point where you realize fast-paced living is not sustainable, and it is important to adjust. I am happy to be adjusting in 2021."