We’re used to the British tabloids attacking Fortnite for turning the nation’s children into monsters, but now they’re attacking Fortnite players for making money from the game.
This week, Epic gave 17-year-old Brit Jarvis Kaye, aka Fortnite pro FaZe Jarvis, a lifetime ban from the game for using an aimbot.
Kaye took to YouTube, where he has 2.1m subscribers, to publish a tearful apology. In the video, which has seen nearly 9.5m views, Kaye insists he used the aimbot in a non-competitive game mode with an alternative account in order to create entertainment for his fans, and claims to have been unaware of the consequences of his actions.
I’ve been Banned from Fortnite (I’m Sorry) Watch on YouTube
Interestingly, the British tabloids have pounced on this story, with The Sun and the Daily Mail in particular going hard on the teen. In an article published this week, the Mail ran a piece focusing on the amount of money Kaye may have made from his apology video, including quotes from his mother, and estimated the value of their family home.
The headline reads: “British Fortnite gamer FaZe Jarvis, 17, given life ban for cheating ‘made another £20,000’ from his tearful YouTube apology video.”
The Mail does not seem to like the fact Kaye has made quite a lot of money from playing Fortnite and making YouTube videos – irrespective of whether the paper agrees with the severity of Epic’s punishment.
“As a YouTuber Jarvis could have chosen not to be paid for his tearful post – but paid adverts were still appearing on his page,” the Mail says.
The Mail also includes quotes from Kaye’s mother, presumably obtained after sending a reporter to doorstep the family home.
Kaye’s mum, who as you’d expect defends her son and calls for a rethink from the gaming community, is given the full Mail treatment, with detail on her home, its estimated value and a description of the town it’s in popped in the piece.
“Mrs Khattri’s pro-gamer son, known as FaZe Jarvis, lives with her and his two brothers in a detached home worth £1.3m in the picturesque commuter belt town of Oxted in Surrey,” the Mail says.
We’re then told Kaye is from a middle-class family, his mum runs a successful business, and he earns lots of money from his very popular YouTube channel.
“Brought up in a middle-class family by his mother, who runs a successful consultancy business, the teenager is said to have amassed an estimated £2m fortune and earned £27,500 in advertising over the last month alone through his YouTube channel with two million fans,” the Mail says.