Valkyrae leaves YouTube fans in panic after joking about 2022 retirement plans

Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter left her YouTube fans in a panic recently after the star streamer suggested she may retire as early as 2022 ⁠— when her current contract ends ⁠— over worries she may be too old to keep going.

Valkyrae has sent her “valktwt” fandom into a tizzy recently after joking she may actually retire early next year because her 30th birthday is just around the corner.

The 29-year-old 100 Thieves streamer has spoken about her exit plans before, often suggesting she would hang up the microphone when she no longer enjoyed playing games and interacting with fans, but a casual joke regarding a 2022 end went down like a lead balloon.

“Look, it’s almost time to retire,” she joked.

The reason, Valkyrae continued, was her age: “Really, Granny Rae will be over the hill in just a few weeks, a few weeks! The end, it’s just a few weeks now.”

Valkyrae laughed at her own suggestion, but her YouTube fans were less thrilled with the suggestion, joke or no. They flooded her chat with comments begging her to think twice on what they thought was a legitimate decision.

“Please Rae, I don’t want to think about it,” one wrote.

Others chimed in with praise and encouragement, suggesting the YouTube star still has “many years” left in her streaming career. One even said “I’d die” multiple times in response before the chat washed the reply away.

There’s no cause for concern, of course; “Granny Rae” was only joking about abruptly exiting the bright lights of streaming fame in the coming weeks. The only reason it may have shocked fans more than usual is that her YouTube contract is also on the verge of expiring, leaving her a free agent again.

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While it’s unlikely the end of her YouTube deal would see Valkyrae hang up the microphone, fans seemed to think it was one very possible future.

Valkyrae has touched on her potential retirement plans before, revealing if she ever was to stop streaming entirely, it would be to “pivot” into business and investing.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” she revealed at the time. “There’s definitely going to be a time in my life where I pivot. I don’t want to live this way [streaming fame] for the rest of my life. I don’t know when, but it’s been on my mind. Social media especially, I just can’t stand it, it’s so difficult.” 

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“All the trolls, and hate, and creepiness,” she continued. “I just don’t think this fame is that fulfilling. It’s incredibly invasive. It [quitting] has been on my mind a lot.”