Ninja smashes another Twitch record.
Popular Fortnite streamer, Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, has broken his own viewership record, peaking at 667,000 concurrent viewers at an exhibition event in LA.
ESPN reports that Blevins participated in the event at the new Esports Arena at the Luxor Resort and Casino, breaking his previous viewership record of 600,000 set last month, when he was joined by Canadian rapper Drake on a stream. The event was streamed on Twitch, so it’s another milestone for the platform, although there’s still a way to go before it catches up to the Fortnite stream on YouTube that drew in 1.1 million viewers.
The event pitted Fortnite players against Blevins, with a $2,500 prize for finding and killing him in-game, and another $2,500 for winning the game. Each player paid $75 to join three matches. Blevins won a single game of the nine played, coming second twice.
“Bigger, better, more. That’s all I want to do, use this, grow as much as possible and spread a positive message,” he said. “I wouldn’t say there will be a pro league built around me, but I would love to be able to throw events like this — bigger, better, I’m talking a stadium.”
Allied Esports CEO Jud Hanigan said, “Everybody is playing [Fortnite] and talking about this game. There’s no official league around it, but this is an interesting way to put a competitive scene around it, in a one-off style. No one has taken a stream and done it in this way. Usually these streams are done at home. Here, it’s on a stage, in front of people, with lights. We’re looking to define what these events could be and take it from there.”
Epic Games’ battle royale title earned $126 million in revenue February, while the iOS version made over $25 million in its first month alone with players spending an average of $1 million per day on in-app purchases.
There’s also some in-game Fortnite buzz being generated around the comet that seems to be hurtling towards Tilted Towers. You can find out more on that right here.
Shabana is a freelance writer who enjoys JRPGs, wine, and not finishing games. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.