Streamer Ninja counters viewers for calling Fortnite ‘kid’s game’

Popular Twitch streamer and professional gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins rejected viewers’ claim about Fortnite being a “kid’s game” in his recent live stream.

“Just because kids play it – look at Minecraft,” Ninja said. “So many old people are playing that game now. You know what’s a kid’s game? Hello Kitty Island.”

The American streamer added that Fortnite was not considered child’s play three years ago. He indicated that people took the game seriously when played by Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm IV, Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff and several other streamers.

Ninja continued joking that people considered Fortnite less “manly” than other titles like Call of Duty because of its colorful aesthetics and lack of violence. The 31-year-old said it did not matter because he enjoyed the gameplay.

Some Twitter users shared the clip of Ninja’s rant, gaining responses from other people in the gaming community. Many of them disagreed with Ninja, saying that Fortnite indeed targets kids. They even suggested Ninja stream more “adult” titles like Escape from Tarkov and Quake.

Ninja has streamed Fortnite on his Twitch channel for years. One of the most notable moments in his streaming career was a Fortnite streaming with popular singer and rapper Drake. The stream was still one of the most watched streams on the platform.

The streamer works for Luminosity Gaming, a North American esports organization that dabbles in several titles, including Fortnite. Before committing to Fortnite, Ninja played Halo for several popular teams, like Cloud 9 and Team Liquid.

Fortnite keeping it fresh

Published in 2017 by Epic Games, Fortnite is considered one of the most well-known battle royale games out there. Epic regularly updates the game and offers new cosmetics to keep players engaged.

Additionally, Epic often partners with public figures, one of the most recent collaborators being NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Players can purchase special outfits, accessories and emotes with Antetokounmpo’s theme.

Fornite also introduced its Chapter 4 Season 1 last December. This upgrade has brought significant improvements to the game-playing experience.

Players can find the difference between mantling in Chapter 4 and the previous chapters. In the past, players could lose momentum while performing this mechanic. Because of that, players needed to restart their run.

In the new update, players will hurdle over or onto obstacles when sprinting on a non-smooth field. This new movement mechanic allows players to avoid enemies easier. It is especially advantageous in Zero Build modes for attacking enemies in hiding.

The new chapter also brought out a new account format, the Cabined account. The system will immediately group underage players to Cabined upon registering. At the sign-up stage, young Fortnite players must write down their parents’ email accounts for parental consent.

Younger players can still access the full Fortnite game despite using Cabined accounts. However, their parents need to provide approval for access.

Epic has also upgraded Fortnite with Unreal Engine 5.1 for its fourth chapter. The new graphic game engine has made the gameplay smoother compared to the previous chapters.

Fortnite’s recent controversies

Despite receiving public approval, Fortnite is not without its controversies. Last December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) won a case against Epic and the developer must pay $520 million — $245 million of the portion will be used to refund Fortnite customers.

According to the FTC, Epic violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by compiling the personal information of users under the age of 13 without obtaining verifiable parental consent.

The FTC also described Fortnite’s user interface design as “deceptive.” Many users reported that they have made unintended in-game purchases while playing Fortnite, even when the game was in a loading or sleeping mode.

The federal agency further added that Epic made canceling in-game purchases difficult because of its interface.

Epic has agreed to pay the settlement fee for the allegations, saying that it aims to be “at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.”