The Completionist

Jirard Khalil (born January 3, 1988) is an American YouTuber, internet personality and reviewer known online as The Completionist, the titular character of a web series Khalil created in 2012. Khalil's videos are mainly about video games, focusing on reviews and playthroughs to 100% completion, uncovering every aspect found in the game.^[2] Throughout his career on YouTube, Khalil has uploaded reviews of over 340 games.^[3] He was also affiliated with the YouTube network and gaming collective Normal Boots.

The Completionist
Khalil in 2018
Personal information
Born	Jirard Khalil (1988-01-03) January 3, 1988 (age 36) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	California State University, Fullerton
Occupations	YouTuber critic television presenter
YouTube information
Channels	ThatOneVideoGamer superbeardbros
Years active	2012–present
Genres	Gaming review
Subscribers	1.49 million^[1]
Total views	338 million^[1]
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: January 24, 2024

Khalil joined the TV network G4 during their 2021–2022 revival as a host of Xplay and Attack of the Show!, and debuted his series God of Work on the network. A member of the Open Hand Foundation charity, he organized the annual event IndieLand, a livestream centered around showcasing indie games intended to raise money for dementia research. He later left the charity and resigned from his role as a board member due to the controversy surrounding allegations of charity fraud.^[4]

Early life

Khalil was born on January 3, 1988, and is a native of Los Angeles, California.^{[‡ 1][3]} He is also the brother of Kellee Khalil, an entrepreneur who founded the wedding planner website Lover.ly.^[5] He is of Lebanese descent.^{[‡ 2]}

Khalil attended California State University, Fullerton.^[3] After Khalil got his college degree in theater and film, he worked at a Best Buy. After his manager pushed him to pursue his YouTube dreams full time, Khalil started his YouTube channel, originally called ThatOneVideoGamer but later renamed The Completionist.^[6][7]

Career

Khalil's YouTube career began in 2012.^[7] He had attempted to start his YouTube career multiple times, but had restarted due to a lack of success in gaining an audience.^[7] After meeting internet personality Arin Hanson, Khalil became inspired to create his YouTube career again, with an emphasis towards playing video games to 100% completion.^[7] Khalil's content on The Completionist involves him reviewing and discovering every aspect of a video game, including completing the game on all difficulty options, finding every collectible and defeating every boss.^[2][6] At the end of his reviews, Khalil also shows the number of hours taken to complete the game along with the amount of collectibles he acquired.^[7] He stated that his style of completing games originated from his childhood, where he often played games repeatedly in order to convince his parents to buy him new games.^[7] Mike Andronico of CNN described Khalil's videos as "backed by his articulate, authoritative and entertaining narration, which make the channel's deep dives on retro games and modern blockbusters accessible for even non-gamers."^[6]

Khalil worked on The Completionist with collaborator Greg Wilmot.^[8] However, due to a falling out between the two members, the first 120 episodes of the series were removed, leading Khalil to recreate the episodes.^[9] In addition to The Completionist, he also created Let's Play videos on the channel Super Beard Bros. with collaborators Alex Faciane and Brett Bayonne.^[3][10] The Let's Play channel was temporarily hacked in April 2023.^[10]

Khalil was a member of the gaming collective Normal Boots, a YouTube network featuring creators such as PeanutButterGamer, JonTron and ProJared.^[11][12] He signed with the Creative Artists Agency in 2020 alongside YouTuber Alpharad.^[13] In 2021, as a part of Sonic's 30th Anniversary, the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel featured a new series called Sonic Rings. In the series, Khalil discusses his history with the franchise.^[14] That same year, Khalil joined the TV network G4 during their revival as a co-host of Xplay and Attack of the Show.^[6][15] He debuted his series, God of Work, in August 2022, which aired on both G4 and his channel.^[6] Created alongside Emily Rose Jacobson, the premise involves Khalil portraying Kratos from God of War in an office setting.^[6][16] Several months later, G4 was shut down in November 2022 after averaging 1,000 viewers, the lowest of any American cable network.^[17]

On March 18, 2023, Khalil uploaded a video about buying every single Nintendo Wii U and 3DS game from the Nintendo eShop before the online store closed in 2023.^[18][19] The project took 328 days and cost $22,791, split between $9,673 in Wii U games and $13,118 in 3DS games.^[19][20][21] The video was funded by multiple sponsorships throughout 2022.^[22] Khalil planned to donate the consoles to the Video Game History Foundation.^{[11][23][24][25]}

Other ventures

Open Hand Foundation

External videos
Khalil's response
Jobst's analysis of the Open Hand Foundation
Anas' analysis of the Open Hand Foundation

Following the death of his mother in 2013 from frontotemporal dementia, Khalil organized the annual livestream charity event IndieLand under the Open Hand Foundation, a charity founded by his father Charles Khalil.^[13][26] The event showcases various indie games along with interviews with developers and guest appearances from gaming personalities, with the intent to raise funds for dementia research.^[27][28]

In November 2023, YouTubers Karl Jobst and Mutahar "SomeOrdinaryGamers" Anas uploaded videos revealing Form 990-PF records which showed that the Open Hand Foundation had not made any charity contributions since its inception in 2014, accumulating $655,520 in unspent assets by the end of 2022 despite recording tens of thousands in administrative expenses.^[4] In a call with the two YouTubers, Khalil said he did not discover that the funds had not been donated until 2022, and was currently seeking an appropriate charity, still not having yet donated any funds. However, Jobst highlighted that the foundation's website lists the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) as a recipient of research funding. During IndieLand events, Khalil had said the Open Hand Foundation was donating to UCSF, the Alzheimer's Association, and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and also asserted that the Open Hand Foundation was one of the "main funding support partners" of UCSF.^[29][30]

Khalil uploaded a response video about the situation on December 9, 2023, in which he acknowledged that the funds had not been donated, apologized for making "statements potentially implying donations were made when they had not yet been", and announced his resignation as a board member of the Open Hand Foundation.^[4] Five days earlier, on December 4, 2023, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration announced it had received a donation of $600,000 on November 29.^[4][31]

In December 2023, Friends Per Second Podcast co-hosts Jake Baldino, Lucy James and Ralph Panebianco announced that they would be separating from Khalil, following the mishandling of funds associated with the Open Hand Foundation.^{[‡ 3]} Khalil was a founder and co-host since its inception in June 2022.^{[‡ 4]} In January 2024, Super Beard Bros. co-hosts Faciane and Bayonne announced that the channel would be separating from Khalil, and that they would be shifting to independent funding going forward.^{[‡ 5][‡ 6]}

Appearances and game development

Khalil appeared as a character in the video game Asagao Academy, a dating sim and visual novel created by and featuring members of Normal Boots in 2014.^[12][32] He also appeared as a non-playable character in the 2023 indie role-playing game Sea of Stars. Following the debacle surrounding the Open Hand Foundation, Sabotage Studio announced their decision to remove Khalil's appearance in the game.^[33][34][35]

In August 2022, he appeared in a GameSpot video with other gaming personalities to discuss the impact of Final Fantasy VII.^[36]

As of April 2023, Khalil is co-developing his upcoming game Elsie with developer Knight Shift Games and publisher Playtonic Games.^[37][38]

Filmography

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012–present	The Completionist	Himself
2012–2024	Super Beard Bros.	Himself

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club	Jirard
2023	Sea of Stars	NPC	Appearance later removed
N/A	Elsie

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	Streamy Awards	Gaming	Nominated	^[39]

See also

• List of YouTube personalities

References

1. "About ThatOneVideoGamer". YouTube.
2. Yarwood, Jack (October 2, 2017). "20 gaming YouTubers you should be following". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
3. Turner, Jonathan (November 13, 2019). "Passionate video gamer 'The Completionist' comes to Rust Belt Nov. 19". The Quad-City Times. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
4. Bankhurst, Adam; Dinsdale, Ryan (November 14, 2023). "YouTuber The Completionist Responds to Allegations of 'Charity Fraud' Against Him and Open Hand". IGN. from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
5. Cava, Marco della (August 11, 2013). "Change Agents: Kellee Khalil has Loverly wedding ideas". USA Today. from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023. One brother, Jirard, goes by his YouTube video-game testing moniker, The Completionist...
6. Andronico, Mike (August 9, 2022). "We talked to The Completionist's Jirard Khalil about his new G4 show — and his favorite YouTube gear". CNN Underscored. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
7. Yarwood, Jack (July 6, 2017). "The Completionist's toughest challenges". Red Bull. from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
8. Ettinger, Jared (August 8, 2013). "Watch The Completionist, Erm, Complete All of Portal For Geek Week [Video]". The Mary Sue. from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
9. Eggen, Lukas (October 22, 2020). "The Completionist has long, complicated history with YouTube". Las Vegas Review-Journal. from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
10. Coulston, John Connor (April 29, 2023). "Two Major Gaming YouTube Channels Hacked". PopCulture. from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
11. Innes, Ruby (March 20, 2023). "Jirard 'The Completionist' Khalil Buys Every Wii U And 3DS eShop Game, Donates Them All". Kotaku Australia. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
12. Elderkin, Beth (May 18, 2016). "When Liking And Subscribing To Your Favourite YouTuber Isn't Enough". Kotaku Australia. from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
13. Weiss, Geoff (September 1, 2020). "CAA Signs Prominent Gamers Alpharad And The Completionist (Exclusive)". Tubefilter. from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
14. "New official Sonic Rings YouTube series highlights Sonic megafans, starting with The Completionist". Nintendo Wire. July 15, 2021. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
15. "New Xplay co-host 'had weird emotional outbursts' of G4 fandom upon joining Adam Sessler". SYFY Official Site. November 16, 2021. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
16. Gutelle, Sam (August 10, 2022). "Can The Completionist bring his combination of video games and acting to TV? 100%". Tubefilter. from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
17. Maglio, Tony; Chapman, Wilson (October 17, 2022). "Why Did the G4 Channel Close? Well, It Averaged 1,000 Viewers". IndieWire. from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
18. Nunneley-Jackson, Stephany (February 16, 2022). "The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop will be shutdown next year". VG247. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
19. Kuhnke, Oisin (March 19, 2023). "Ahead of the Wii U and 3DS eShops' closure, YouTube's most prolific completionist bought every game". VG247. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
20. Liang, Lu-Hai (March 19, 2023). "TheCompletionist Just Spent $23K Saving Every Game On Wii U And 3DS". TheGamer. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
21. Plunkett, Luke (March 19, 2023). "YouTuber Buys Every Single Video Game On The Wii U and 3DS eShops Before They Close". Kotaku. from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
22. Bonthuys, Darryn (March 20, 2023). "YouTuber The Completionist Bought Every Wii U And 3DS eShop Game Before Shutdown, And It Cost $23,000". GameSpot. from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
23. Michel, Jamal (March 24, 2023). "Nintendo's Wii U and 3DS stores closing means game over for digital archives". NPR. from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
24. Bailey, Dustin (March 21, 2023). "YouTuber's wild $20k quest to preserve the Nintendo eShop could be the only legal way to save game history, and that sucks". GamesRadar+. from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
25. Doolan, Liam (March 19, 2023). "Random: YouTuber Spends Nearly $23K Buying Every 3DS & Wii U eShop Game". Nintendo Life. from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
26. Desatoff, Sam (September 29, 2021). "IndieLand 2021 raises more than $100,000 for dementia research". GameDaily.biz. from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
27. Sheehan, Gavin (August 22, 2022). "IndieLand 2022 Livestream Set To Happen This November". Bleeding Cool. from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
28. Williams, Hayley (October 25, 2023). "IndieLand 2023 Charity Event Is Happening This Week". GameSpot. from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
29. Dinsdale, Ryan (November 14, 2023). "YouTuber The Completionist's Open Hand Foundation Accused of Keeping Charitable Donations". IGN. from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
30. Barovic, Andrej (November 14, 2023). "Gaming YouTuber The Completionist admits to not donating over $600,000 to charity". Dot Esports. from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
31. "Open Hand Foundation Provides AFTD $600K for FTD Research". The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. December 4, 2023. from the original on December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
32. Carlson, Alex (November 2, 2014). "Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club Lets You Date Youtubers". Hardcore Gamer. from the original on February 26, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
33. Doolan, Liam (December 16, 2023). "Sea Of Stars Developer Sabotage Replacing 'The Completionist' NPC". Nintendo Life. from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
34. Allsop, Ken (December 16, 2023). "Sea of Stars dev is replacing its NPC based on The Completionist". PCGamesN. from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
35. Ngan, Liv (December 18, 2023). "Sea of Stars removes YouTuber cameo following charity fraud allegations". Eurogamer. from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
36. Klein, Dave; James, Lucy (August 7, 2022). "I Heart Final Fantasy VII (ft. The Completionist, Maximilian Dood, and More!)". GameSpot. from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
37. Norman, Jim (April 17, 2023). "Video: The Completionist Talks To Us About His Upcoming Roguelike Game, Elsie". Nintendo Life. from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
38. LeClair, Kyle (April 10, 2023). "PAX East 2023: Elsie is Pure, Glorious Chaos". Hardcore Gamer. from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
39. Haring, Bruce (December 13, 2019). "9th Annual Streamy Awards Honors 'Good Mythical Morning' As Show Of The Year". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2023.

Primary sources

1. Jirard Khalil (November 21, 2018). Draw My Life The Completionist. YouTube. Event occurs at 0:34. from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
2. Khalil, Jirard (May 26, 2017). "What if She's Still in There Somewhere?". The Story Collider. from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
3. @TheFPSPodcast (December 13, 2023). "Friends Per Second Podcast Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. Ep 1: Introducing the Friends Per Second Podcast ft. Jake Baldino, Lucy James and The Completionist. from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
5. Super Beard Bros (January 2, 2024). "2024 Update". Patreon. from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
6. Super Beard Bros (January 28, 2024). "2024 Patreon Tier Update". Patreon. from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

Further reading

• Acovino, Vincent; Brown, Ashley; Summers, Juana (March 31, 2023). "Nintendo closed some digital storefronts. Experts say it's bad for video game history". NPR. from the original on April 1, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
• Wex, Sabina (April 25, 2023). "Speed run, not speed sprint: How to survive a decade in the gamer game". The Daily Dot. from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
• Asarch, Steven (December 11, 2023). "Jirard Khalil, known online as 'The Completionist,' responds to charity fund backlash". The Daily Dot. from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
• Smith, Ernie (December 12, 2023). "The Completionist Controversy: On Reporting & Expert Voices". Tedium. from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.

External links

• The Completionist at IMDb  
• Official website