Jared Lee Knabenbauer (born August 28, 1985), better known online as ProJared, is an American YouTuber, Twitch Streamer and Let's Player who has made online content since 2006, with a focus on gaming content. A self-taught editor, Jared is known for his reviews and occasional Top Tens. His Let's Play channel, ProJared Plays, is where he plays various games and uploads his Nuzlocke challenges. He also had a third channel, Now in the 90s, where he looked at the video game releases that happened each week 30 years ago.

On his channel, Jared is known for his ProReview series, where he takes a game he knows well and gives a review for it, as well as his One Minute Reviews and Nuzlocke series, the former of which was eventually retired. Jared has done several main shows: ProReview, One Minute Reviews, Full reviews, D&December, and Now in the 90s, the latter of which was moved to a new channel in 2022 and retired in 2024 for financial reasons. Besides those main shows, Jared does several other kind of videos, such as short skits, guides, and self-imposed challenge Let's Plays. In 2014, Jared was picked up by NormalBoots, but resigned from the company in 2019, and has since worked as an independent content creator.

In addition to his own content, Jared has collaborated with quite a few other YouTubers, including his NormalBoots co-stars PeanutButterGamer, JonTron and The Completionist. Jared's main channel has over 800 thousand subscribers and 225,769,553 views as of 2023. His second channel has over 239,000 subscribers and 102,809,869 views as of 2023. His third channel has over 52 thousand subscribers and 2,916,579 views as of 2023. Jared has 133k followers on Twitch as of 2024.

In 2026, Jared announced he is taking a hiatus to prioritize his mental and physical health. He explained that his health has suffered due to a lack of self-care, impacting the quality and consistency of his content, and expressed regret while emphasizing the need to step away to recover.

Biography

Early life and career with ScrewAttack

Jared Lee Knabenbauer was born on August 28, 1985 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The elder of twin boys, he is the younger brother to Derek James Knabenbauer, known on YouTube as DKlarations. Jared was featured in an improv comedy group known as Comedy City using a similar style to Whose Line Is It Anyway. Jared continues to do improv to this day, showing some of it in his videos. One of his biggest passions is Dungeons & Dragons, which he later began covering in detail in his YouTube series D&December. Jared worked as a GameStop Assistant Store Manager from 2004 to 2009.

Jared was originally hired to run GameAttack, and when it closed down he worked for ScrewAttack itself. When first hired, he worked at GameAttack, and produced a show called 'Nametags', which he wrote, edited and acted in. Jared played himself in the series, working as a struggling assistant store manager for a retail chain video game store. The series lasted 10 episodes and is considered to be Jared's first big break online.

After Nametags, Jared became the host of several ScrewAttack shows including Hard News, Sidescrollers and Reboot or Retro. He also produced and starred in Newsroom. Jared's work with ScrewAttack included working on the shows Nametags, Newsroom, Screwin' Around (Terrible Thursday), Mario Party After Dark, Reboot or Retro, Hard News, Sidescrollers, Clip of the Week, Reviews, and The Best Ever. Jared is a self-taught editor and at ScrewAttack and did a lot of voice over work. He also had host roles in Sidescrollers, Hard News and Reboot or Retro.

Jared had one of the most quirky personalities at ScrewAttack. He developed a sort of catchphrase at the end of each Hard News episode where he would flick a pen that he was holding. It became surprisingly popular to the point that other ScrewAttack members did a pen flick whenever they hosted the show. Terrible Thursday was a popular Screwin' Around spin-off that Jared made with Chad James, and Jared played up his reactions to many terrible games for the entertainment of the fans, among the most popular being Predator for the NES.

Jared left ScrewAttack when he was fired in 2012, where he pursued his increasingly popular YouTube career. As his YouTube channel was starting to become big, Jared was focusing on that more than he was focusing on his work at ScrewAttack. Craig Skistimas wanted all the staff to be focused on ScrewAttack only, which led to Jared being fired. While there was controversy and confusion on his departure, he still returned for SGC and Mario Party After Dark.

YouTube career

Jared began his career on YouTube in 2010 with his Two Worlds video. He later explained that he began posting videos because he wanted to make fun of Two Worlds and he felt he could make better game reviews than other people. After he left ScrewAttack, he continued to produce his own content on his YouTube channel, starting with ProReviews and eventually One Minute Reviews and Nuzlocke.

Jared is known for his One Minute reviews of current titles, his more detailed reviews for games he thinks that deserves one, and the less serious "Pro" Reviews, often of retro games he played as a child. In addition, he does occasional Top Tens, such as the Top Ten Bees in video games, and has done 4 Nuzlocke challenges so far. Jared was picked up by NormalBoots in 2014, but resigned from the company in 2019, and has since worked as an independent content creator.

On his channel "ProJared" (previously DMJared: short for Dungeon Master Jared), he has done the following shows. One of them, Now in the 90s, was later spun-off into a separate channel in 2022 and was retired for financial reasons in 2024, the shows One Minute Reviews and Extended Thoughts were retired by Jared in 2014, and Jared stopped ding the D&December series after 2019 due to being burned out with making DnD content and finding the fanbase too toxic for him.

Besides those main shows, he does several other kind of videos, such as short skits, guides, and self-imposed challenge Let's Plays. Jared has also done several Improv Videos, and has shown several videos of his group performing. In 2014, he was picked up by NormalBoots, but resigned from the company in 2019, and has since become an independent content creator. His Let's Play channel, ProJared Plays, is where he plays various games and uploads his Nuzlocke challenges. Games that Jared has Let's Played include Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Doki Doki Literature Club!, and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

Shows

• ProReview, Jared's main show on his channel. On this show, Jared gives a review about usually an NES or SNES game. After his review, he gives a "score" out of ten, but the score isn't a number, rather an object or analogy related to the game. When Jared joined Normal Boots, his ProJared reviews were the only videos uploaded there. This show has become famous for Jared's hatred of the Hydlide series, as well as beginning several recurring jokes that have made their way into other videos, such as the "Beeeeeees" joke from the Hydlide videos.
• One Minute Reviews, a retired series where Jared did a review in one minute and gave a score at the end. On occasion, he would also do a full review as well as a One Minute Review if he didn't have enough time. Jared eventually stopped doing One Minute Reviews. The last episode, 'One Minute Review -The Legend of Korra', was uploaded on December 9, 2014. Jared, on May 17, 2016, admitted on Twitter that: "I'll never do one minute reviews again. The YouTube algorithm makes them a TERRIBLE idea now. It'd honestly destroy my channel."
• Extended Thoughts, a retired spin-off series to One Minute Reviews. Sometimes, when Jared did a One Minute Review, he ran out of time to give all the information he needs to (or the One Minute Review was a gag). In these cases, he made a much longer discussion about his opinions on the game. They differed from standard reviews, as they weren't scripted - Jared just had a few dot-points written down.
• D&December, a retired series where Jared devotes the entire month of December to Dungeons & Dragons videos. This series included regular ProReviews, some gameplay videos, and tales from Jared's experiences. Jared has mentioned on his streams a few times that he’s not only burned out with making dnd content, but the fan base has become too toxic for him, hence why he stopped doing D&December.
• Full Reviews, where Jared sometimes makes a normal review for a game. Unlike One Minute Reviews, they are not under a strict time limit. These are sometimes combined with an Extended Thoughts video for longer reviews. It is unrelated to a ProReview, as those are scripted skits, usually older games, and with a higher production value.
• Now in the 90s, a retired series where Jared takes a look at the video game releases that happened each week 30 years ago. It started being uploaded to the ProJared channel before moving over to a new channel called Now in the 90s in November 2022, after Episode 33 in April 2022. The series went over how each game that released that week plays, what Jared thinks of the game, how much it cost then and now, and what reviewers think of the game. There's also some miscellaneous trivia and some history surrounding the game, including the developers, development cycle, and commercials. In April 2024, Jared announced the conclusion of the series due to it being no longer financially viable to keep the show going. Every Friday, Jared discussed three relevant games released that week, giving a historical overview of each along with contemporary ratings from gaming magazines and sales figures, usually stating his own opinion as well. Editor Dylan then gave a quick rundown of the rest of the titles released that week in the Rapid-Fire Releases segment, finishing up with Jared comparing the price of each game he reviewed at launch to the average selling price of a used copy today.

Twitch Streaming career

"Hey, it's me! ProJared! I'm mostly known for my YouTube Channel!! I favor RPGs, especially anything Final Fantasy and retro games. I also love to play Magic The Gathering, and was in the first ever Magic: Arena Championship. I currently live in Seattle, living my best life and enjoying video games." - Jared's Twitch description

Jared regularly streams on Twitch, and has 133k followers on Twitch as of 2024. He has a Twitch VODs channel on YouTube called ProJared VODs, where he uploads archives of all of his Twitch streams to make it easier for people to watch old VODs or catch up on old streams. He favors RPGs, especially anything Final Fantasy and retro games. He also loves to play Magic The Gathering.

Collaborations and Guest Appearances

Jared has collaborated with quite a few other YouTubers, including PeanutButterGamer, JonTron, Jirard The Completionist, and SuperMCGamer. He has also made several guest appearances, and narrating multiple episodes of Did You Know Gaming?.

Jared collaborated with PeanutButterGamer on several occasions, most of these collaborations were released on PeanutButterGamer's channel and one was released on Jared's channel. He appeared in 4 series of PeanutButterGamer's "Minecraft Hardcore", and also worked with PeanutButterGamer for his Pocky and Rocky Pro Review,

Jared was a part of the GAME SQUAD, alongside PeanutButterGamer, Brutalmoose, and SpaceHamster. He did Monster Hunter videos with SuperPaniLand, SuperMCGamer, Criken Chippers, and PeanutButterGamer. He worked with Jirard The Completionist on his Illusion of Gaia episode. He worked with Chuggaaconroy on an episode of his Pikmin 3 Mission Mode LP. He appeared on The Game Theorists channel in Gaijin Goombah's Game Exchange, in the Bravely Default episode.

In 2016, Jared joined Holly Conrad, Chris Perkins, NateWantsToBattle, and Anne Prosser Robinson on an official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube series called Dice, Camera, Action! Jared and Holly Conrad both participated in Wizard of the Coast's Dungeons and Dragons show, Dice, Camera, Action!. They also did two collaboration videos on Jared's channel, in which they played Pokemon Go in a graveyard and opened old Magic the Gathering booster packs.

Jared narrated eight episodes of Did You Know Gaming?, including Resident Evil, Final Fantasy Part 2, Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter Generations, Super Nintendo (SNES), and Chrono Trigger. His other work with Did You Know Gaming? includes narrating the Leftovers episode Zelda Part 1, appearing in the video "DYKG Completionist ProJared JesseCox in UK - CoxCon", and being the subject of the outtake video "ProJared Outtakes".

Jared appeared in several Game Grumps videos. He was featured in the playthroughs of King of Tokyo on April 12th, 2014 and One Night Ultimate Werewolf on May 10th, 2014 on the show Table Flip. At MAGfest 2015, Ross confirmed Jared would be the first non-Grump guest to appear on Grumpcade. He made his Grumpcade debut on February 4th, 2015 on Vice Project Doom and have been featured on several episodes since. Starting on October 25th, 2017 and coming out with weekly episodes, Jared was the DM for the Grumps' D&D Game "Dragons in Places".

Personal life

Jared married cosplayer Heidi O'Ferrall in June 2014, three years after they started dating. Heidi appeared alongside Jared in the Asagao Academy series taking on the role of Hana making all the decisions in the game. As a bonus Heidi cosplayed as Asagao Academy's main protagonist Hana for the duration of the series. Jared and Hedi had a close relationship early on, but by 2018 their relationship became troubled despite counseling and a mutual agreement to allow outside physical relationships.

At the same time, Holly Conrad and her then husband Ross O'Donovan were amicably separating. In February 2018, with full permission from both Ross and Heidi, Jared and Holly were encouraged to explore a relationship, yet Heidi eventually withdrew consent and in October 2018 refused to allow Jared to break off their own marriage, threatening self-harm and to expose his and Holly's relationship in order to destroy DCA (in contrast, Ross continued to be supportive of Holly and Jared and moved out in August 2018).

Alleged cheating and solicitation of nudes controversy

On May 8, 2019, Jared released a statement on Twitter in which he revealed that he and Heidi had filed for divorce.^[1][1][2] Jared wrote that the decision was reached after extensive therapy sessions for both partners, and that "Heidi’s privacy, mental wellbeing, and discretion has always been and will remain my highest priority through all this". He also stated that people "may see a lot of rumors, speculation and gossip going around", and urged readers to draw their own conclusions based on their observations.^[3][4] Several minutes following this post, Heidi made a series of posts on her Twitter account in which she claimed that Jared had been cheating on her with Holly Conrad, a YouTuber and the former wife of animator and Game Grumps member Ross O'Donovan, since Fall 2018. Heidi alleged that Jared had been secretly engaging in sexual activity with Holly, which he denied vehemently upon questioning from her, and that she had evidence in the form of sexually explicit images and text conversations between the two which she discovered on Jared's old cell phone.^[5][5][6] Heidi also alleged that Jared had consistently acted abusively during the duration of her marriage, insisting to her that she was the one causing any problems in their relationship and making her feel guilty for questioning his loyalty.^[7] Additionally, Heidi claimed that he had spent several years sending nude photos to fans of his YouTube series via Snapchat and Tumblr, as well as requesting that they send their own in return, in what she initially perceived as an effort to create "a body-positive space for consenting adults" before learning that it had escalated beyond such a premise.^[8] Following this, nude images of Jared began appearing online,^[9][10][11] and several alleged victims came out claiming that Jared had engaged in sending sexually explicit photos to them as teenagers.^[12][13]

Following the allegations, Jared faced extreme backlash from various members of his fanbase. Jared's YouTube channel, which had recently surpassed 1,000,000 subscribers, suffered a considerable drop in sub count, losing 30,000 subscribers in less than a day.^[14] He later lost over 120,000 subscribers, according to Social Blade, bringing his total to a little over 900,000 subscribers.^[15] Members of r/projared, the subreddit page dedicated to Jared's channel, quickly turned on Jared, with administrators removing Jared as a moderator and replacing the page's description with simply "jared cheated on his wife". The subreddit shifted in focus to instead center around YouTubers JonTron and Scott the Woz, in addition to memes posted shaming and making fun of Jared's alleged actions.^[16][17] In a public statement on their website, NormalBoots revealed that they would be ending their partnership with Jared, as well as updating its social media use policy to reflect their stance on the issue, revealing that they had been informed of the allegations since receiving an email in April 2019, and assuring a commitment on their part to maintaining a safe space for all creators and viewers.^[18][19][20] Gaming YouTube channel Game Grumps, which had uploaded several Let's Play videos featuring Jared as a guest, began removing these videos in light of the controversy.^[21]

On May 17, 2019, Jared released another statement on Twitter where he claimed that he and his wife were in an open polyamorous relationship with both of them having partners on the side, which he also claimed Heidi had encouraged.^[22] Heidi countered with a series of tweets saying that they had indeed attempted polyamory at one point, but she had "shut it down" later on due to Jared's lack of transparency regarding the relationship with Holly, and she considered their subsequent relationship infidelity. On May 20, 2019, Holly posted a Twitter thread corroborating Jared's version of events. She alleged Heidi encouraged Jared to explore his feelings for Holly, but expected nothing to happen due to Holly having expressed asexuality. Holly further alleged that when the feelings were returned, Heidi became abusive and threatened to ruin their careers, allegations Heidi denied. Jared intentionally left Normal Boots and asked that his fellow YouTubers dissociate themselves from him to protect their reputations until he was able to fight back.

Jared's Response

On August 27, 2019, Jared uploaded the video "YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO" to his channel after a three-month absence from the internet.^[23] Jared revealed that the reason why he did not provide a further response to the allegations against him at the time was that he was in talks with his lawyers and wanted to wait until he had compiled evidence against all of the claims against him before he made a full response.

In the video, Jared explained that he did indeed exchange nudes with fans on Tumblr and Snapchat, but always made it clear that it was for consenting adults only and that he never chased or abused people for nudes directly - in other words it was an open invitation to people who wanted to express themselves in that way with no incentive. Jared did however acknowledge that it was an "unhealthy" thing to do and that he understood why people took issue with this practice.

Jared then provides evidence against the claims that he solicited nudes from minors, showing that both of the allegations were unsubstantiated and could not have taken place, with one seemingly not taking place at all, and the other, who despite Jared having indeed talked to on Tumblr, never turned sexual. He also states he had no knowledge of the two being under 18 at the time and that they lied about their age to him.

Jared also states that he never cheated on Heidi and that he was already attempting to divorce her as early as October 2018, before he began his relationship with Holly, as well as that Heidi had refused to agree to it initially. To support his claims, Jared displayed screenshots of his talks with his divorce lawyer taken around that time. At the end of the video, Jared criticizes all of the YouTubers who commented on the situation without taking time to get a full understanding of the situation or to message him to get his side. He also urged people to spread and share the video in the hopes of reclaiming his internet fanbase.

This video resulted in a significant increase in support for Jared and his channel, with his subscriber count gradually increasing again.

Physical and mental health challenges

In the 2026 video titled "Sorry To Say This...", Jared informed his audience that he is taking an indefinite hiatus from his gaming YouTube channel. He explained that his current lifestyle, specifically a lack of adequate self-care, has negatively impacted both his physical and mental health. This decline has made it increasingly difficult for him to maintain the production standards and consistent upload schedule expected for his primary content.

Jared expressed sincere regret for the sudden announcement but emphasized that stepping away is a necessary measure for his recovery. He describes how the mounting pressure to create high-quality videos while struggling with personal health issues became unsustainable. Jared noted that the break is intended to allow him the time needed to reset and prioritize his well-being before considering a return to major projects.

Despite the gaming channel hiatus, Jared clarifies that he will not be disappearing from the internet entirely. He intends to remain active on his main channel, where the content format is less demanding and more manageable for his current circumstances. This approach allows him to stay connected with his community in a more relaxed capacity while he focuses on improving his health.

Videography

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Nametags	Himself	10 episodes
2008-2013	Hard News	Himself
2008-2013	SideScrollers	Himself
2008-2013	Clip of the Week	Himself
2010-present	ProReview	Himself	65 episodes
2011-2013	Screwin' Around	Himself
2011-2013	Reviews	Himself
2011	Reboot or Retro	Himself
2012	Newsroom	Himself	19 episodes
2012-2013	The Best Ever	Himself
2012-2013	Mario Party After Dark	Himself
2013–2016	Did You Know Gaming?	Himself	4 episodes
2014-2026	ProJared Plays!	Himself	2,500 episodes
2014	One Minute Review	Himself	49 episodes
2014	Dragon Ball Z Video Game Retrospective	Himself	5 episodes
2014	Pokemon FireRed Nuzlocke	Narrator	36 episodes
2014	Pokemon Y Blind Nuzlocke	Narrator	26 episodes
2014-2022	Review	Himself	20 episodes
2014-2023	Top Tens	Himself	21 episodes
2014–2017	Game Grumps	Himself
2015	Beginner's Guide To Monster Hunter	Narrator	4 episodes
2015-2019	D&December	Himself	37 episodes
2015	E3 2016 Press Conference Grades	Himself	5 episodes
2016-2019	Dice, Camera, Action	Himself	141 episodes
2022-2024	Now in the 90s	Narrator	104 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club	Jared

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Game Shakers	Himself	Television episode

Quotes

• "Hey! It's me, ProJared!" - Jared at the beginning of almost every video he makes
• "I'm playing X." - Jared's cold open intro
• "Jim the knight. Killed by bees." - Jared in his first Hydelide video
• "Yes, I cheated, and I'm okay with that." - Jared on cheating in Two Worlds
• "OH MY GOD, IT'S MONSTER HUNTER! I LOVE IT, IT'S SO MUCH FUN!" - Jared in his Monster Hunter One Minute Review
• "I rate this an X out of 10." - Jared at the end of almost every video he makes
• "Hello ladies. And dudes."
• "'Ey girl, what's up? You wanna f*ck?"
• "Ready, go!" - Jared in his One Minute Reviews
• "X gets a X out of 10 from me." - Jared in his One Minute Reviews
• "Don't be that guy! Nobody likes that guy!" - Jared in a DnDecember video
• "I have the receipts." - Jared in his "YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO" video
• "The next time you see someone being cancelled with a mob attacking them and going after them, ask 'What's the other side's story?' 'Is there more to this?' How do you know that they deserve to be bullied and shamed? Through evidence? Or through public opinion? Nobody likes cancel culture, until they get an opportunity to cancel someone." - Jared at the end of his "YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO" video
• "Ever wonder WHY a game is good? Or why it's bad? I'm ProJared, and I'll tell you why. Emphasis on RPGs and retro games most people have never heard of!"
• "Hey, it's me, ProJared! This is a retro gaming channel with heavy emphasis on RPG games, such as Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, especially from the NES/SNES era! BUT going beyond just video games, I also LOVE to talk about table top gaming, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS or card games like MAGIC: THE GATHERING! I like to focus on games that I have a personal connection to, things that I've played in my childhood or one that has resonated with me ever since I played it. I try my best to focus on positive aspects and games that are good, but sometimes, one of those games I played as kid was real, REAL bad. I'm looking at you, Hydlide. For more of me, be sure to check out my Gameplay channel with full playthroughs of a lot of games I've done videos on here AND be sure to follow me over on Twitch for live streaming!" - Jared's main channel description
• "Hey! It's me, ProJared, and welcome to ProJared Plays! Here are daily Let’s Play videos for games of all genres: RPGs like Final Fantasy, card games like Magic: The Gathering, horror games, and straight up comedy - ever play a drinking game with Mario? Plus every December is D&December, where we play old-school Dungeons and Dragons games and celebrate all that tabletop games have to offer!" - Jared's gaming channel description

Trivia

• His editing experience is mostly with Final Cut Pro.
• In mid-early-September 2015, Jared had a guest appearance on a Nickelodeon show called Game Shakers, in which he advertised a mobile app called Sky Whale. He admitted the show was stupid but didn't regret having the experience of being on TV.
• While away at PAX 2017 Jared's home at the time sustained very bad water damage as a result of a broken pipe. Not only did Jared and his then-wife Heidi O'Ferrall receive a lot of kind words from fellow YouTubers and fans hoping things get better soon, Jared also encouraged fans to not donate money to him, instead urging them to donate money to the victims of the 2017 hurricane season.
  • His fans came through for him and Heidi anyway. Apparently his audience mass-rewatched his content so heavily that it caused a viewership spike in his metrics (and thus, much-needed YouTube monetization revenue).
• Jared was one of only three non-Game Grumps to have his own "Grump Head".

See also

• ProJared on the ScrewAttack Wiki
• ProJared on the Game Grumps Wiki
• ProJared on the PeanutButterGamer Wiki
  • ProJared on the PeanutButterGamer Hardcore Series Wiki
• ProJared on the Chuggaaconroy Wiki

External links

Social media

valign="top" style="width:50%;" | ProJared on YouTube ProJared Plays on YouTube ProJared on Twitch @ProJared on Twitter ProJared on Instagram| valign="top" style="width:50%;" |

References