The Most Dangerous Games is a thriller dystopian novel by MrBeast and James Patterson. It was published on September 1, 2026, by William Morrow and Company, an imprint of HarperCollins. The book debuted at #3 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Contents
Plot
The book follows an underground society who invite one hundred contestants to participate in a series of dangerous tests in extreme environments around the world. The purpose of these tests is to find "the One," a person whom they believe will be capable of using $1 billion to change the world.
Writing
The book is credited to author James Patterson and YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, who were introduced after MrBeast became interested in writing a novel. They met at MrBeast's studio in Greenville, North Carolina to discuss various potential story ideas. They began outlining a story based upon the premise of a deadly version of the Beast Games competition show. MrBeast compared the book's structure to the Odyssey, which is about a series of adventures at different places visited by a protagonist on a dangerous journey. Patterson reportedly mentored MrBeast in the craft of writing, and they met on a weekly basis to draft and edit the novel together.
Patterson and MrBeast intended to write a novel that would appeal to both children and adults. When the book was announced, MrBeast released a statement saying that he hoped the book would make younger generations interested in reading.
ABC News described the book's title as an homage to "The Most Dangerous Game", a 1924 short story by Richard Connell. However, in an interview with USA Today, MrBeast said that the similarity was a coincidence and that he had not read Connell's story.
Publication
On March 27, 2025, Deadline reported that there was an eight-figure bidding war over the novel's television and film adaptation rights. HarperCollins ultimately won the bidding war, which would be published under its William Morrow and Company imprint. It was reported that the book would be published in 15 languages in 2026.
In June 2026, the book's official title and cover were revealed, and it became available for pre-order. A trailer for the book was published on June 18, 2026.
The novel was published on September 1, 2026, by William Morrow and Company. An audiobook version of the novel is narrated by Nolan North and also features MrBeast.
Marketing
MrBeast and Patterson both promoted the book on social media, and appeared together on the morning news program Good Morning America to discuss it.
On July 17, 2026, MrBeast uploaded a YouTube short titled, "Read My Book, You Could Win $1,000,000." As part of the contest, the book's readers can participate in weekly challenges based on clues in the book to win a $1,000,000 prize.
Reception
Critical reception
Prior to the novel's release, Matt Patches of Polygon and Alexander Larman of The Spectator each compared its premise to The Hunger Games and The Running Man.
Imogen West-Knights of Slate gave the book a negative review, describing it as "very easy to read, nothing left implicit, plot-heavy, broken up into short chapters, superficial in its themes and characters." However, she noted that it did have potential to engage teenagers in reading.
It was well received by The Times.
Sales
The book debuted at #3 on the The New York Times Best Seller list, and reached #2 on Amazon's new releases list, and #9 on USA Today's bestseller list.
The day before the book's release, it was at #18 on Amazon's new releases list, and #1 on its mystery novels list. The Hollywood Reporter reported that it had low pre-order sales, "numbering in the four digits". On September 1, IGN reported that pre-order sales were higher than had been previously estimated and the book was "tracking well for a debut novel".