Streaming legend Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins has defended still playing Fortnite in 2023, after viewers told him it was a “kid’s game”.
The meteoric rise of Ninja and Fortnite will go down in gaming folklore. From Halo esports to dominating Twitch alongside Drake, Ninja is still the most followed Twitch streamer by a huge margin.
While Fortnite’s viewership and player base has slimmed down since its peak in 2018 and 2019, it still attracts hundreds of thousands of fans on Twitch. That’s especially true when creators like Ninja get back on the game.
Ninja rejects viewers claiming Fortnite is for “kids”
In a recent livestream, a viewer called Fortnite a “kid’s game”, a comment which elicited a passionate and fiery response from the 31-year-old.
“This isn’t a kid’s game,” he said. “This is a grown man playing this game. [There’s] lots of them. Just because kids play it – look at Minecraft. So many old people are playing that game now. You know what’s a kid’s game? Hello Kitty Island.”
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Ninja responding to people calling Fortnite a kids game is the energy I want in 2023 pic.twitter.com/pVnGLGbDEz
— Hunter (@HUN2R) January 4, 2023
He continued: “This wasn’t a kid’s game three years ago. This wasn’t a kid’s game when Dr Disrespect was playing it and Tim was playing it and NICKMERCS was playing it and CDNtheThird was playing it… This was Fortnite, one of the greatest f**king games ever invented.”
Becoming increasingly humorous, Ninja started to parody children’s voices and joked that other titles are more “manly”.
He finished: “What, because CoD came out with an actual good game for once? I play Warzone. I play a man’s game… We are playing video games. It doesn’t matter. You’re just f**king gaming.”
While it’s true that Fortnite’s lack of violence and colorful aesthetic make it appealing to younger players, it’s also true that Epic’s building battle royale continues to attract a hugely diverse audience.