Daniel John Hardcastle (born March 23, 1989), who is known online as NerdCubed (written as Nerd ), is a British YouTuber, author, and actor. His YouTube channel, created in 2011, mainly features content about video games. As of December 2024, the channel has about 2.39 million subscribers and 1.37 billion video views. He authored the book Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd, which was a bestseller in The Sunday Times, and The Paradox Paradox. In 2025, he became a writer for Doctor Who, working with Big Finish Productions to create an audio story.
Career
Hardcastle became well-known for creating a scripted, story-based webcomic inside the game Minecraft. After starting his YouTube channel on March 20, 2011, he first shared a series of humorous vlogs before uploading his first let's play video. His first let's play series, titled Nerd³'s Minecraft Buildy Thing, ran from August 27, 2011, to August 22, 2012. After making videos about several indie games, Hardcastle posted his first Nerd³ Plays video on January 7, 2012. In 2012, Machinima supported him in creating the series 13 Ways To Die.
In 2015, Hardcastle was nominated for a Golden Joystick Award for "online personality of the year." He has since gained more than 2.44 million subscribers and 1.34 billion total views on YouTube. On Red Nose Day 2019, Hardcastle raised over £16,000 for Comic Relief during an 11-hour livestream. In September 2019, his YouTube account was unverified because he was not widely recognized outside the platform.
In 2020, Hardcastle appeared in the film Ashens and the Polybius Heist alongside his longtime collaborator Stuart Ashen, who also co-wrote the film. Hardcastle contributed two jokes to the script when Ashen gave it to him. He will also appear in Ashen’s film Turn Back.
Hardcastle began writing his first book, Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life & Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd, in 2017. On June 4, 2018, he started crowdfunding the book through the website Unbound. The book reached 100% of its funding goal on the first day and 1000% by June 11. It eventually achieved 1903% of its initial target, making it the most successful crowdfunded book in the United Kingdom. The book’s foreword was written by Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine and a game director, and a chapter was contributed by YouTuber Stuart Ashen. The book was released on September 19, 2019, and became a Sunday Times best seller.
On September 26, 2019, crowdfunding began for Hardcastle’s second book, The Paradox Paradox, a science fiction novel he described as "a bit Star Trek, a bit Doctor Who, and a bit fucked up." The book met its funding goal within 20 minutes. The eBook was released early for backers on December 15, 2024, but this was later explained as a response to Unbound’s financial difficulties. The physical hardcover version was released on April 17, 2025. Unbound filed for bankruptcy in January 2025, and its founders attempted to restructure the company as Boundless Publishing. However, the company entered liquidation in August 2025. This affected 238 authors, who would not receive payments owed for their books. Hardcastle made a video explaining issues with Unbound’s management, including withheld revenue, unauthorized sales, and misallocated funds. He stated that "we’ve lawyered up, both individually and in groups of authors."
On February 28, 2025, Hardcastle announced he had written a short Doctor Who story for Volume 13 of Big Finish Short Trips. His story, Rise of the Eukaryans, featuring the Eleventh Doctor and read by Laura Aikman, is one of six stories in Short Trips Volume 13: Tales from the Vortex, which was released on April 30, 2025.
Personal life
Hardcastle is married to Rebecca Maughan, an artist who created illustrations for Fuck Yeah, Video Games.
Hardcastle's father, Steve "Dad³" Hardcastle, often worked with him. He began a YouTube channel in 2013, which gained more than 300,000 subscribers and 23 million total views. He stopped making videos on February 5, 2024.
Hardcastle studied astrophysics at the University of Leicester but left after the first year.