Twitch sensation and Fortnite streamer Ninja has confirmed – or at least, not denied – that he is currently earning in excess of $500k a month from streaming games.
That’s significantly more than the recent estimate of $350k.
“A lot of the income is definitely coming from the Amazon and Twitch Prime subscribers,” he told CNBC when asked to break down his finances. “We also just hit 5m subscribers on YouTube as well, and Instagram just hit over 1m followers. And I’m almost there on Twitter [He has in fact now passed 1m followers on Twitter]. The combination of all those things… [that’s where] the collective revenue is coming from.”
When questioned about why he enjoys such popularity, the quite humble and affable streamer added: “I think I offer a combination of high-tier gameplay that they really can’t get with a lot of other content creators. It’s very difficult to be one of the best at a video game, or at any game, or at anything at all in the world.
“And I also think I offer… I’m very goofy. If you ever watch any of my streams or my YouTube videos, I do impressions and stuff like that all the time and just crazy shenanigans. I think the combination of that, it’s like a hybrid, and it’s just really fun to watch. And a pretty positive environment as well.”
Positive message
Ninja’s most interesting insight came when he was asked about how he convinced his parents to let him dedicate so much of his time to gaming when he was younger.
“I’m really happy that you asked that,” he answered, clearly pretty chuffed. “I maintained my job that I was working and I stayed in college [while I was pro gaming]. I continued to do well in school and focus on the future of my life, as well as working on streaming and competing in Halo. It was one of those things where if I was doing well in school, putting in the time and effort there, and soccer as well, that I would be rewarded to play as many games as I want.
“And honestly, I encourage everyone to do that. All the kids out there – you can’t just drop everything and focus on playing video games for a living. It’s also becoming a very competitive career choice right now. You want to make sure you’re securing your future and putting in the extra time to try and make this happen as well.”
Ninja added that he is trying to save as much money as he can for the time being. He’s investing a lot and doesn’t plan on “doing anything crazy with it”. He and his wife also contribute to animal charities, and are currently reaching out for more charitable partners.
In an age where many streamers and vloggers can leave you wanting to gouge your own face off, Ninja passes the most stringent of tests – The Parent Test. He’s the kind of lad you’d be happy for your daughter to bring home. And it’s good to see someone succeeding off the back of that for a change.
