One of gaming’s biggest names, Tyler ‘Ninja‘ Blevins, allegedly made a shitload of money during the surprise launch of Apex Legends last month. According to a report by Reuters, he may have been paid up to US $1 million ($1.4 million) by its publisher, EA, to promote the game.
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The bloke has a mammoth following on just about every platform, with more than 13 and a half million Twitch followers, 4 million Twitter followers, and 13.2 million Instagram followers. In other words, old mate has the ability to make a lot of fucking money from endorsements and advertisements, which he’s absolutely doing.
While EA itself is refusing to comment on the agreement, Ninja disclosed the partnership in streams, as well as on social media, up until the 8th of February, which was longer than the 24-hour period EA had apparently paid him and other influencers for.
Ninja is no stranger to buckets of cash, either. In 2018, the streamer made close to US $10 million ($14.1 million), mostly by playing Fortnite, which obviously blew up all over the world. That money came from Twitch subscriptions, sponsorships from Red Bull and Uber Eats, and a physical appearance in an ad for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. That’s not necessarily an exhaustive list, but it gives a good idea of how bigwig streamers make their cash.
He told The New York Times in December that he pulls in roughly US $500,000 ($707,000) a month, which he feels is important to let people know.
“I wanted to hide how much we were making because I don’t care,” he said. “But now I kind of want everyone to know: This is how much the top guys can make. It’s important that parents can see.”
There’s no way to know how his latest $1 million compares to the other deals he’s done in the gaming space, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that the blue-haired man has made an incredible amount of dosh playing video games.