The 25-year-old American Turner “Tfue” Tenney (25) is something of a child star among gaming influencers. He has been seen on YouTube since childhood, later building a successful career on Twitch with Fortnite. Now, Tfue bids farewell in an emotional video.
What kind of streamer is he? Tfue was already seen in his brother’s YouTube videos as a child and started uploading his own gameplay content at 16. In 2018, he exploded with Fortnite: he began the year with 193 average viewers and ended it with over 45,000.
By 2019, Tfue was the most-watched streamer on Twitch and was also considered the best Fortnite player in the world. The now 25-year-old is currently in 6th place among the most followed streamers. However, he has not been on air since April 2023.
Now he has checked in with his fans in an emotional video to say goodbye for now.
The younger, more aggressive Tfue replaced Ninja as the leading Fortnite streamer on Twitch at that time.
Gaming is just work now
What does Tfue say now? In a nearly 40-minute YouTube video, the streamer checks back in with his fans on June 20, 2023, and also says goodbye. After initially reflecting on his career, he eventually announces that he wants to step back from content creation and gaming.
As a reason, Tfue states that he has had little time for anything else in recent years. On average, he was on air 6 days a week for 7 hours (via TwitchTracker). Now he feels trapped in the endless content grind:
I used to use gaming to escape reality. Now I use reality to escape the damn work. I just feel kind of trapped, you know.
Despite everything, saying goodbye is visibly difficult for Tfue, and he repeatedly has to pause to collect himself. You can watch the entire video here in the original English:
Tfue wants to return one day
What does the future hold for Tfue? First of all, the streamer wants to take a break and gain some distance: he says he will now drink a beer somewhere on an island, chill, according to Tfue.
I have been making [content] since I was 8 years old. I just need to go and live my life. […] I am 25 and feel like most of my life has taken place in front of a screen.
However, the streamer also emphasizes that he would not take back the time as a content creator for anything. He thanks his family, his fans, and other streamers for their support over the years.
The video at least ends with a small glimmer of hope for fans: “I will return one day.”
The streamer ProfessorBroman already explained in 2017 that Twitch encourages self-exploitation. Many large content creators are constantly “grinding,” allowing themselves few days off or even vacations until they can no longer go on.
Even the queen of Twitch is not safe from the dreaded “streamer burnout.”
