Several popular Fortnite professional players, including Team SoloMid team captain Myth, are accusing developer Epic Games of having a double standard when it comes to Twitch superstar Ninja.
Myth took to social media on December 11 to complain about what he feels is favoritism being shown when it comes to Ninja compared to other popular Fortnite competitors and content creators.
He specifically pointed out that Ninja was being highlighted excessively during the first heat of the semi-finals of the $1 million Winter Royale tournament, even during moments that were not significant to the overall outcome.
Both Myth and Ninja played in the semi-final and neither was able to qualify for the grand final, but Myth’s major contention after the competition was with the production team.
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“Why the fuck do they highlight every time Ninja dies. There’s legit a really shitty double standard for him when to comes to what the production teams shows,” he tweeted. “I would rather watch people rotating and not someone just getting sniper simply because they have a name.”
I would rather watch people rotating and not someone just getting sniped simply because they have a name.
— Myth (@TSM_Myth) December 11, 2018
Team Liquid’s Vivid, another participant in the first heat, also chimed in with his own two cents: “Even the casters noticed this by saying ‘production team has no chill.’ Annoying in my opinion as well.”
CounterLogic Gaming pro Wish felt like the issue went beyond just Ninja, and that the idea of taking attention away from important in-game moments is a problem.
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“There’s a really consistent tendency of the camera swapping away from fights just to replay a big name death,” he said. “Literally kills the fluidity in the broadcast. If there’s action, stay, show everything else AFTER as a recap.”
Myth later made it clear that his comments were not aimed at Ninja in any way, but rather the team handling the on-screen production of the Winter Royale tournament.
As for Ninja’s response, the popular streamer simply quoted Myth’s original tweet with the “thinking face” emoji, which does not reveal much about what he’ thinks of Myth’s comments or the validity of his accusations.
:thinking_face: https://t.co/43QlxDRi4w
— Ninja (@Ninja) December 11, 2018
Whether or not the Epic Games will adjust their production strategy based on what Myth is accusing remains to be seen, but there is little reason to doubt what these pro players are claiming.
Ninja is the biggest name in online gaming, and especially Fortnite, so it’s hard to blame the producers for wanting to give the superstar as much screen-time as possible.
However, there is also some stock in what Myth and the pros are contending, in that no popular figure, not even Ninja, should be taking attention away from important moments of the competition, especially when the high profile players can just be highlighted in a post-game recap anyway.