Twitch star Ninja is unhappy with his status in Fortnite. He has showcased the game to billions of viewers, yet does not have his own skin in Fortnite. That seems to bother him.
This annoys Ninja: In a recent stream, Twitch star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins expressed his frustration that Epic Games promoted another streamer via their Twitter account.
On October 2, Fortnite tweeted: “Are you looking for a fun, relaxed Fortnite stream? Then check this out.”
Recommended was “Lusidream.tv” and not “Ninja.” This bothers the star streamer on camera.
I’m not angry, I’m not angry, but …
This is what Ninja says:
“Fortnite tweeted: Are you looking for a relaxed, humorous Fortnite stream? Then tune in to … @NOT NINJA, because we want Ninja to not have his own skin.”
Ninja gesticulates animatedly:
“I’m not angry about it, but … I’ve supported the game pretty much since it came out, and I’ve shown it to about a billion people. […] But I don’t deserve to get anything.”
Here is the video:
What is behind it? one must consider that Ninja streams live for several hours every day, and one doesn’t have to take every word too seriously, but his statement touches on an important core.
In all seriousness, Ninja’s complaint is probably not fully serious and angry. After all, Fortnite has made him “indirectly” a millionaire several times over through the Twitch collaboration.
Riding on the wave of Fortnite’s success, Ninja has become the biggest streamer in the world with over 10 million Twitch followers. But a special honor for Ninja is indeed missing in Fortnite.
Ninja demands special treatment for himself
This is what Ninja wants: Ninja seems to believe that he deserves a specific honor in Fortnite, such as a special skin or an emote. The disappointment here seems to be somewhat played for laughs in front of the cameras, but covers a true core.
The “exceptional streamer” Ninja also wishes for an “exceptional status” from Epic and wants to be treated preferentially and not be regarded as “just another streamer.”
This is how Ninja justifies his claim: By reaching so many people with his videos, Ninja claims a special role for himself. The streamer says he has reached 1.5 billion people across all his channels since he started making videos about Fortnite.
Moreover, he has been practically there from the beginning.
Interestingly, even Ninja, the biggest streamer in the world, feels that he deserves more support and love from Epic. A controversial German streamer feels the same way, claiming that he deserves more support. ApoRed cites exactly the reasons that Ninja mentions for Epic to support him more strongly:
- He has been following the game early on
- and he has an enormous reach
No special status for the exceptional streamer
Is Ninja right with his demand? At events and promotional activities, such as the Pro-AM tournament at E3, “Ninja” was clearly the star player. But that was due to his good performance and outside attention, not a decision by Epic to highlight Ninja as a star.
Even with the presentation of the “Samsung Galaxy Note 9,” Ninja was present in the media, but he was not the big brand ambassador he was previously touted as.
Thus, Ninja is indeed not granted special treatment by Epic. He is not highlighted in comparison to other streamers.
This is why Epic does it: It seems that Epic wants to rely on a wide range of personalities and not become dependent on a single figure, even if he stands out as much as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. Probably a well-considered and deliberate decision, ensuring that no single streamer should be bigger than the “Fortnite” brand.
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Currently, Epic is running a program to directly reward streamers:
