Technology is a wonderful thing, and it can offer people options in terms of what they can do with their lives. For video gamers, recent advancements have allowed them to become online personalities through streaming via services like Youtube and Twitch. While this was started harmlessly, it’s now become a key part of gaming itself. And, for those who are lucky enough to get a big following, it can pay out big. For example, the biggest Fortnite stream on the Internet right now is clearing at least $350,000 a month. Not bad, huh?
So, how does that happen? Well, first off, this streamer is Ninja, aka Tyler Blevins, who has been a popular Fortnite player since the launch of the game. But, as the games popularity rose, so did his own popularity. In the course of a few days, he went from 100,000 followers on Twitch to 150,000. And it’s still growing, which is mind-blowing.
But how does that calculate to money? Well, according to Forbes, on Twitch, to subscribe to a channel costs you $5. $2.50 of that goes to Twitch itself, and the other $2.50 goes to Ninja. Which means, that based on his 150,000 subscribers, he makes around $350,000. But wait, there’s a catch here, and not in the bad way.
You see, this is just calculating his Twitch revenue. Ninja also has over 4 million Youtube subscribers, ones that very faithfully watch his streams. Thus, it’s very likely he makes a lot more. And even then, that’s not calculating sponsorships, one-time donations on Twitch, and other factors that make the original number seem more and more like a lowball.
Now, before you think “How can I be like him?”, it’s not that simple. He earned his fanbase, he was there from the beginning of Fortnite, this was not an “overnight success” story. You can still try, just be ready to earn it if you do.
