The Twitch streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins had his big moment in 2018 with the online shooter Fortnite. But in 2022, he feels that he no longer plays a special role in Epic’s plans. He says he feels like the studio hates him right now. He is frustrated that he does not get the support other new content creators receive. Additionally, Epic has postponed the resale of his skin.
What is the deal with Fortnite and Ninja?
- The game “Fortnite: Battle Royale” experienced a rapid rise starting in winter 2017, peaked in March 2018, and was at that time the biggest gaming topic in the world. In 2018 and for several months in 2019, there was a real “Fortnite mania”: the online shooter was everywhere: in children’s rooms, on Twitch, on television.
- At the same time as Fortnite, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins became a star on Twitch. The notorious trash talker and overly ambitious flamer held back on cursing, put on a headband, chugged one Red Bull after another, and streamed Fortnite like a maniac.
- Ninja reached new heights, was the first to have more than 10 million followers on Twitch, was invited to major talk shows, and dreamed of building a huge brand around himself – like David Beckham he wanted to be.
Even back then, Ninja said how much he benefited from Fortnite: This is how he earned enormous sums through the “Creator Code.” But from his perspective, it could have been even more in 2018 if the developers behind Fortnite, Epic Games, had properly supported him.
What was Ninja’s problem with Fortnite? Even at the height of Fortnite, Ninja complained that he was not receiving “the love” he felt he deserved.
For months in 2018 and 2019, he complained that he should actually receive an “own skin” in Fortnite. The implication was that he should also share in the sales proceeds. For months, Ninja jealously scrutinized every reference to other content creators in Fortnite.
It seemed as if Ninja believed that Epic was making a mistake by not placing him at the center of all actions to become “even richer.” Ultimately, Ninja got his “own skin” in January 2020 – in his view, it came too late, as the big hype was already over.
Ninja says he is “more sad than angry”
What Ninja is complaining about now: In 2022, Twitch streamer Ninja is no longer as big a deal as he used to be. A viewer recently asked him when his skin would return to the Fortnite item shop.
But Ninja appeared puzzled. He said it was actually planned for the skin to return to the item shop on April 11, but that was postponed at the last minute:
I feel like Epic hates me right now, seriously. I feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick.
Ninja
Thus, Ninja is frustrated that streamers Ludwig and Loserfruit are both getting events in Fortnite sponsored by Epic. However, he has not received an offer to do the same.
Perhaps Epic is trying to promote other content creators as well, not just him. But he and his team had promoted the return of the skin for a month, and now it had simply been postponed.
This makes him “more sad than angry,” he says.
What it’s about: It’s been a pattern with Ninja for years that he is extremely ambitious and has consistently complained about why he isn’t pushed further up, even when he’s already at the top.
From his perspective, Epic is following a wrong approach here by putting focus on multiple horses instead of just favoring him.
From the outside, it seems like Epic doesn’t want to clearly highlight anyone as a “super draw,” but instead bets on many faces. However, Ninja still seems unable to come to terms with this idea even after five years.
Ninja has lost 88% of his viewers on Twitch in 3 years: “I’m kind of stuck”
