Twitch superstar Ninja explains why Fortnite, and his channel, are so successful

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is one of the most successful stars of Twitch right now, having broken records for concurrent viewers when he streamed Fortnite with Drake. That sort of success leads to mainstream coverage, and today Blevins was interviewed by CNBC about making so much money streaming Fortnite.

Describing video games to a mainstream audience that doesn’t play them is hard enough, but talking about the business of streaming on top of that adds to the complexity. Blevins was able to break things down simply and effectively for the CNBC audience, and came across as remarkably friendly and capable.

Blevins laid down a simple explanation for why Fortnite has become so popular, so quickly.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things,” he said. “The fact that it’s free-to-play is super huge, and it’s already across all the platforms, your Xbox, PlayStation and PC. They just released their mobile version on iOS, which is very difficult to get done. I think there’s rumors about even getting it on the Nintendo Switch. So just the accessibility and how friendly the game is ... they’re just hitting every single mark perfectly.”

He also explained that he’s not making money from just one platform, saying that his revenue is a combination of his success on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. He also confirmed that Twitch Prime’s deal with Fortnite is a big reason for his influx of subscribers, a situation which has proven complicated.

Blevins seemed to have a good handle on how he’s found his own success in the competitive world of streaming.

“I think I offer a combination of high game play, like high-tier game play that they really can’t get with a lot of other content creators,” Blevins said. “It’s very difficult to be one of the best at a video game, in any game, or at anything in all in the world. I also think I offer ... I’m very goofy. If you’ve ever watched any of my streams or my YouTube videos I do impressions and stuff like that all the time. Just crazy shenanigans ... It’s pretty fun to watch, and a positive environment as well.”

Blevins came off a bit like Fortnite itself during the interview: Friendly, polished and oddly wholesome. It’s no wonder that both have been able to break through to mainstream acceptance and fame.