He’s not at the vanguard of a great wave of streaming cheaters and YouTube hackers who will scatter to the four winds when he falls-cheaters do it secretly, or as secretly as they can. Nor is it going to save the Fortnite community from some great, corrupting malaise. Hanging Jarvis out to dry isn’t going to move the needle on that culture. It isn't a great culture, but compared to other indiscretions streamers and YouTubers have been called out for, a one-time hacking session done for laughs isn't close to the top of the list. Pushing on the limits of what you can get away with is how you succeed on YouTube. Yes, Jarvis knew what he was doing was against the rules, but he's also spent the last couple of years immersed in a streamer culture that treats "rules" more like guidelines. That's over the line and off the cliff, a career-ender. Those who follow him expect him to be funny, expect him to be outrageous, expect him to post videos like " Wireless Keyboard Prank" and " I Pretend to be Five Years Old in Fortnite" and " I Stream Sniped Random Fortnite Streamers for 24 Hours" and "I Annoy Fortnite Players With an Aimbot"-oh wait, not that last one. "He's a kid" is traditionally a flimsy excuse, but "he's a kid we've been throwing money and adulation at for being wacky and playing this videogame" really firms it up.
![jarvis faze jarvis faze](https://www.sickchirpse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FAZE-1.jpg)
Epic maintains the game, but streamers keep it at the forefront of the collective gamer consciousness.Īt 17, Jarvis is old enough to know better, but young enough to not fully grasp the potential repercussions of his actions, or the need to even consider them in the first place. Whether they pushed it to the top or just climbed aboard for the ride might be a matter of debate, but regardless of how it got there, its ongoing success is due in part to the efforts of guys like Jarvis.
![jarvis faze jarvis faze](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/806185717193961472/Ife_cufg_400x400.jpg)
Fortnite is an absolute monster, the biggest game in the world, and it also has a very strong symbiotic relationship with streamers and YouTubers. And this is a big part of what bothers me about Epic's handling of the matter. Jarvis' skills are transferable, in theory at least, and a shift to a different game may be in the cards: He said in his most recent video that he's going to take some time to regroup and consider his future, but added, "I love creating content for you guys and I promise you, I'm going to keep going."īut even if he's able to transition successfully to another game, no other game is Fortnite. But for someone whose career is built around Fortnite, a lost year is a heavy hit. Even a one-year ban might seem unfairly light when everyone else theoretically faces permanent expulsion from the game for the same offense.