Fortnite superstar ‘Ninja’ takes gameplay to YouTube

Richard Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, at the 2019 Fortnite World Cup Finals – Round Two on July 27, 2019 in New York City. Image: AFP/Johannes Eisele

Fortnite superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins returned to the streaming world Wednesday with a match on YouTube, after Microsoft pulled the plug on the Mixer platform where he had an exclusive contract.

Blevins had amassed nearly 24 million subscribers at his YouTube channel shortly into a Fortnite match he had tipped fans off to in a tweet.

“You know what’s crazy man?” Blevins asked rhetorically during banter with teammates during the game stream.

“Like not streaming for a month I almost forgot that nobody knows what’s going on with, like, me.”

In August of last year, Blevins left Amazon-owned Twitch, telling fans they would only be able to find him on rival gameplay streaming platform Mixer.

The move was considered a win for Microsoft, luring viewers to Mixer and playing into the technology company’s efforts to bolster its gaming community.

But Microsoft last month said it is throwing in the towel on its Mixer livestream platform, and teaming up with Facebook to better compete with rivals like Twitch and YouTube.

Microsoft Mixer will be shuttered on July 22 with gamers encouraged to transition to Facebook Gaming.

Online battle royale game “Fortnite” is a global sensation, with entertaining play and commentary a hit with online viewers.

Blevins is one of a clutch of gamers who stream themselves playing Fortnite and recoup riches and rock-star adulation from a vast and youthful following.

He told Agence France-Presse last year his life took a swift turn when he discovered Fortnite, a blockbuster that swept the gaming sector when it came out in 2017 and claims 200 million players, more than eight million of whom are playing at any one time. RGA

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