Fan Hardcore Series
Fan Hardcore series are web series that are inspired by PeanutButterGamer’s Hardcore series. These series are commonly referred to simply as Hardcore series, and individual seasons are referred to as “Hardcores” or just “HCs”. They typically follow the same premise of PBG HC (premise can be found on About page). A spreadsheet containing almost every Hardcore ever released can be found here (big shoutout to Woodzee for creating this).
History
The earliest known Hardcores actually predate the release of the first season of PBG HC. The first known Hardcore is MindCrack Ultra Hardcore #1, which released its first episode on February 22nd, 2012. From the years 2012 to 2016, very few Hardcores besides PBG HC were created. A notable series created during this time span is Funcore.
After the return of PBG HC with the release of Minecraft #5 in December 2016, Hardcore production began to rise rapidly. It’s at this time that most people would say that the Hardcore community was birthed. In February 2017, community member Noah (Noshiro at the time) founded a private friend group for recording Hardcores and hosting “casuals” (non-recorded Hardcores that people participate in for fun) called Nova Quest (Nova for short). Membership in Nova was a sign of status in the community, and getting a Nova member in your Hardcore was highly sought after, so much so that the term “Nova clout” was created to refer to the attention your Hardcore would receive if you got a member of Nova in it (if you think this sounds like a very stupid concept that only a bunch of immature teens would believe in, then you’d be correct). In July 2017, the “Hardcore Community!” Discord server was created.
On August 18th, 2017, Nova member Simoz released the first episode of his third full-length Hardcore, Minecraft #1. This particular Hardcore is significant because it’s at this point where Hardcore series made by fans began to contend PBG HC in quality and entertainment. Simoz’s Hardcore series quickly became one of the most popular fan series in the Hardcore community. In November 2017, community member NodOff uploaded a video advertising the community Discord server and the newly created Hardcore Wiki. This video was how I and potentially many others found the Hardcore community. Notable Hardcore series created in 2017 besides Simoz’s Hardcore series include iCryInMySleep’s Hardcore series, SyKore, EXTREME, ToastCore, and the Boiled Peanuts’ Hardcore series (the 8-Bit Bros’ Hardcore series at the time).
In April 2018, Simoz began releasing his fifth full-length Hardcore season, Minecraft #2. This season is regarded as one of the best Hardcores of all time, though it doesn’t hold up as well as it did in 2018. Also in April 2018, XanyLeaves began releasing the first season of his Hardcore series EPICORE. This series became so popular that a community of people entirely independent of the greater Hardcore community formed around just this series. Hardcore series inspired by EPICORE are sometimes referred to as “fan EPICORE ’s.” Other notable Hardcore series created in 2018 include Astra, NCICORE, Themecore, Rolecore, and Death Wish (EliteCore at the time). Nothing super notable happened in 2019 despite the creation of a few popular series, such as Amber K.’s Hardcore series, Bonus HC, Ennui HC (succeeded by Death Toll), and Team Scallop.
Heading into the 2020s, the Hardcore community began to experience a change, in that people began to mature and realize a lot of the things that the community did in the past were dumb, like believing in “Nova clout.” People also began to realize that making insensitive jokes and saying slurs in their Hardcores was #NotCool! The community became a much less toxic place to be in and almost all Hardcores past 2021 actually hold up well thanks to this shift.
In 2020, the first Hardcore Awards show was hosted. A list of every year’s Hardcore Awards, the awards for those years, and the winners of those awards can be found here. Amber K.’s Secret Rivals won 2020’s Season of the Year award. In late 2021, the Boiled Peanuts released their fifth Minecraft season. This season was 2021’s Season of the Year and is widely regarded as the best Hardcore ever created. In early 2022, Non Copyright Infringing Channel (NCIC) released Very Big Core, a MineZ Hardcore with a full cast of 30 people, making it one of the biggest Hardcores in terms of cast size. Detonation 2, Bonus HC’s fourth full-length season, was 2022’s Season of the Year.
In 2023, the first Hardcore Jam, a contest where members of the community are challenged to make a short Hardcore within a set time limit and under certain constraints such as a specific theme, was hosted. A list of all the Hardcore Jams, their entries, and their winners can be found here. Astraphobia was 2023’s Season of the Year, and Death Toll ’s Majority Vote was 2024’s.
Today, the Hardcore community is still active and new Hardcores are still being made. Even though there hasn’t been a season of PBG HC since 2021, the community is still alive and well, and it’s likely it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.