8-year Old Becomes Professional FortNite Player

[Guest]

Fortnite: From piano player to pro gamer - aged just eight

 

Summary

 Joseph Deen (8 years old) has signed up with Team 33, a US-based FortNite team, with a  $33,000 Bonus, plus high-performance computer. 

 

Quotes

Quote

Joseph is the youngest-ever paid FortNite player, after signing with Team 33 in December last year.

 

The Californian esports team invited him to their headquarters to give him a $33,000 (£23,600) signing-on bonus, and high-speed computer system.

 

"I felt amazing when I got offered the contract," Joseph told the BBC. "I've thought about being a professional gamer a lot, but no-one took me seriously until Team 33 came along."

According to the esportsearnings.com website, only two of the top 10 highest-earning Fortnite players are over 18.
 

For fellow American Joseph, who was just getting into the game at the time, it was a moment of inspiration.

 

"My dream is to be like [American professional video game player] Bugha and play like him. I look up to him because no-one took him seriously until he won the World Cup and I feel the same, as no-one took me seriously until I was signed by Team 33."

Joseph is also desperate to start streaming his matches online and asks [his mother] Gigi "every day", but she is still considering the move saying, "he's only little".

 

Even if his mum does give Joseph the green light, his age prohibits him from streaming on Twitch - the largest games streaming platform.

 

Breaking the rules could be costly both for Joseph and for his new team.

 

In 2019, an 11-year-old professional player for FaZe Clan called Patrick 'H1ghsky1' Bragaru was banned from streaming on Twitch after his real age was discovered.

 

My thoughts

 8 is too young to be playing video games (or really have any full-time career) professionally, whether streaming or not. It's certainly healthy to play video games, but long-term effects, such as missing out on curricular activities, or other social activities, may be detrimental. That said, $33k is an astounding figure to make at such a young age. Hopefully his parents do not take advantage - i strongly detest such pageantry. Properly managed, this is a great opportunity for this young individual. All the best and congratulations - but be careful and don't rely on this for a career. 

 

[EDIT]

This also sets himself up for University if he wishes too - good amount for an education, where cost is a large barrier. Certainly more than i've ever made from a video game ($20 - used it for printing money haha)

 

Sources

Joe Tidy, Cyber Reporter for the BBC - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56239242

[Moonzy]

good for him, genuinely

i agree he's a tad young, but if his guardian is of the responsible kind i wouldn't worry too much about it

[IkeaGnome]

I feel like you're missing parts of this as long as the whole thing is true. 

His parents closely monitor his screen time.

Spoiler

Joseph's mum Gigi says this isn't something which worries her, and she lets him play Fortnite for two or three hours a day after school, and more at weekends.

"I've looked at the game and I don't think we're doing anything wrong. He's a balanced child and comes from a good family and he's not affected by it," she said.

He has other hobbies as well. This isn't all he does in his free time.

Spoiler

As well as gaming, Gigi says Joseph enjoys playing the piano, which both he and his team also say could be a secret to his success.

"Playing piano helped me a lot with the keyboard and mouse. As soon as I started playing on PC I was already really good at Fortnite," said Joseph.

It's helping his future.

Spoiler

Gigi says her son's signing-on bonus has been put into a savings account for him when he's older.

His team is still trying to make money off him, but it LOOKS like it's not the number 1 priority yet.

Spoiler

Both parties say it doesn't stipulate any minimum number of hours that the eight-year-old is required to play or train.

"The contract is to protect him really. He can pull out whenever he wants and it's totally flexible. It's on his terms and my terms. It's like a child actor really - they would do more work than he's doing," Gigi says.

Team 33 seems relaxed about its long-term investment in Joseph.

"We made the signing announcement so the world knows Joseph's age, and we don't make a mistake like FaZe did with H1ghsky1," said Tyler.

"We can groom him to be a top-level player at a young age and enter him in major cups immediately when he turns the appropriate age, just like the $3m cup Bugha won.

"Joseph is legally allowed to be in tournaments with no cup. We also plan to build up his online presence through YouTube which is also legal. With his online presence we plan to build merchandise for him and sell that as well.

"So in our view if we can make $33,000 out of all that we do over the next few years we win, and that is what we are shooting for."

As long as his parents don't end up taking advantage of the situation and help to keep him in a healthy balance. As long as his team don't try to go HAM on hours when he turns 13, good for him!

[da na]

wow... that's amazing! That looks like an Alienware Area51M... plus 33k? seems like an opportunity

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Voluspa said:

I feel like you're missing parts of this as long as the whole thing is true. 

His parents closely monitor his screen time.

  Reveal hidden contents

Joseph's mum Gigi says this isn't something which worries her, and she lets him play Fortnite for two or three hours a day after school, and more at weekends.

"I've looked at the game and I don't think we're doing anything wrong. He's a balanced child and comes from a good family and he's not affected by it," she said.

He has other hobbies as well. This isn't all he does in his free time.

  Reveal hidden contents

As well as gaming, Gigi says Joseph enjoys playing the piano, which both he and his team also say could be a secret to his success.

"Playing piano helped me a lot with the keyboard and mouse. As soon as I started playing on PC I was already really good at Fortnite," said Joseph.

It's helping his future.

  Reveal hidden contents

Gigi says her son's signing-on bonus has been put into a savings account for him when he's older.

His team is still trying to make money off him, but it LOOKS like it's not the number 1 priority yet.

  Reveal hidden contents

Both parties say it doesn't stipulate any minimum number of hours that the eight-year-old is required to play or train.

"The contract is to protect him really. He can pull out whenever he wants and it's totally flexible. It's on his terms and my terms. It's like a child actor really - they would do more work than he's doing," Gigi says.

Team 33 seems relaxed about its long-term investment in Joseph.

"We made the signing announcement so the world knows Joseph's age, and we don't make a mistake like FaZe did with H1ghsky1," said Tyler.

"We can groom him to be a top-level player at a young age and enter him in major cups immediately when he turns the appropriate age, just like the $3m cup Bugha won.

"Joseph is legally allowed to be in tournaments with no cup. We also plan to build up his online presence through YouTube which is also legal. With his online presence we plan to build merchandise for him and sell that as well.

"So in our view if we can make $33,000 out of all that we do over the next few years we win, and that is what we are shooting for."

As long as his parents don't end up taking advantage of the situation and help to keep him in a healthy balance. As long as his team don't try to go HAM on hours when he turns 13, good for him!

What people say is one thing, actions are another - especially with these situations. Will have to wait and see. My comments were really for in general - remember that statistic that only two of the top FortNite players are over 18. I definitely agree that is a great thing to achieve for Joseph, and he seems to be cared for quite well. 2-3 hours a night is probably a little too much however, maybe i'm old and don't have that much time anymore, but it seems excessive (in my opinion). I think 2-3 hours, if he wishes to keep this up, will be harder in the future, when he goes to high school, and certainly unattainable in University. The main impact I worry about with such a low-aged individual is his future prospects - video gaming as a career is very volatile. 

[King of Memes]

16 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Fortnite: From piano player to pro gamer - aged just eight

 

Summary

 Joseph Deen (8 years old) has signed up with Team 33, a US-based FortNite team, with a  $33,000 Bonus, plus high-performance computer. 

 

Quotes

 

My thoughts

 8 is too young to be playing video games (or really have any full-time career) professionally, whether streaming or not. It's certainly healthy to play video games, but long-term effects, such as missing out on curricular activities, or other social activities, may be detrimental. That said, $33k is an astounding figure to make at such a young age. Hopefully his parents do not take advantage - i strongly detest such pageantry. Properly managed, this is a great opportunity for this young individual. All the best and congratulations - but be careful and don't rely on this for a career. 

 

[EDIT]

This also sets himself up for University if he wishes too - good amount for an education, where cost is a large barrier. Certainly more than i've ever made from a video game ($20 - used it for printing money haha)

 

Sources

Joe Tidy, Cyber Reporter for the BBC - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56239242

what this kid needs to do is put the money hes earning toward colege and look at this as a fun way to earn lots of money. he wont be able to do this when he grows up, he'll have to have a normal job. he probably wont even be able to do this in highschool, since school is more important than some gaming career

[King of Memes]

1 minute ago, RorzNZ said:

What people say is one thing, actions are another - especially with these situations. Will have to wait and see. My comments were really for in general - remember that statistic that only two of the top FortNite players are over 18. I definitely agree that is a great thing to achieve for Joseph, and he seems to be cared for quite well. 2-3 hours a night is probably a little too much however, maybe i'm old and don't have that much time anymore, but it seems excessive (in my opinion). I think 2-3 hours, if he wishes to keep this up, will be harder in the future, when he goes to high school, and certainly unattainable in University. The main impact I worry about with such a low-aged individual is his future prospects - video gaming as a career is very volatile. 

2-3 hours a night is ok as long as he get enough exercise and does other activities

[IkeaGnome]

Just now, RorzNZ said:

What people say is one thing, actions are another - especially with these situations. Will have to wait and see. My comments were really for in general - remember that statistic that only two of the top FortNite players are over 18. I definitely agree that is a great thing to achieve for Joseph, and he seems to be cared for quite well. 2-3 hours a night is probably a little too much however, maybe i'm old and don't have that much time anymore, but it seems excessive (in my opinion). I think 2-3 hours, if he wishes to keep this up, will be harder in the future, when he goes to high school, and certainly unattainable in University. The main impact I worry about with such a low-aged individual is his future prospects - video gaming as a career is very volatile. 

I work 12 hours a day while I'm at work and still play on average 2 hours after work. Helps unwind. 

I think in this day and age, and around Fortnite, there's too many eyes for them to push him too hard. It'll get caught very quickly. If anything, I think it can help set a good example for other kids. "Look, you don't need to play 5 or 6 or even 8 hours a day. This kid, your age, plays less than 3 hours a day on average and is a pro player." That's just my not having kids yet way of thinking. Kids relate to other kids.

Hopefully this does set a good precedent and doesn't end up being closer related to the Hollywood "child stars of the 80s and 90s" fallout. 

[poochyena]

14 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

. 2-3 hours a night is probably a little too much however

really? You need to change your life around some if 2-3 hours of free time sounds like a lot to you

[Arika]

Esports the only career where child labour is OK.... 

 

Apparently 

[Downkey]

38 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Fortnite: From piano player to pro gamer - aged just eight

 

Summary

 Joseph Deen (8 years old) has signed up with Team 33, a US-based FortNite team, with a  $33,000 Bonus, plus high-performance computer. 

 

Quotes

 

My thoughts

 8 is too young to be playing video games (or really have any full-time career) professionally, whether streaming or not. It's certainly healthy to play video games, but long-term effects, such as missing out on curricular activities, or other social activities, may be detrimental. That said, $33k is an astounding figure to make at such a young age. Hopefully his parents do not take advantage - i strongly detest such pageantry. Properly managed, this is a great opportunity for this young individual. All the best and congratulations - but be careful and don't rely on this for a career. 

 

[EDIT]

This also sets himself up for University if he wishes too - good amount for an education, where cost is a large barrier. Certainly more than i've ever made from a video game ($20 - used it for printing money haha)

 

Sources

Joe Tidy, Cyber Reporter for the BBC - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56239242

Are his teammates no longer allowed to swear?

[tire]

ok, just gotta be honest, and a lot of you are going to agree with me (maybe)

but i think piano player is a much better profession then a fortnite esports team.

also, isnt the fortnite community already horrible. he might just end like most 8 year olds that play fortnite, addicted and rude.

this is just my opinion, please do not get mad at me for expressing my feelings toward this child

good day

[Helpful Tech Witch]

6 minutes ago, poochyena said:

really? You need to change your life around some if 2-3 hours of free time sounds like a lot to you

I agree with this.

 

FN especally can have long amounts of downtime, you can have like 15-20mins of not playing in a 2 hour session.

 

And TBH 8yos have a lot of time. There's not many extracurriculars for 8yos. Maybe little leaude baseball? 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

7 minutes ago, the communist potato said:

ok, just gotta be honest, and a lot of you are going to agree with me (maybe)

but i think piano player is a much better profession then a fortnite esports team.

also, isnt the fortnite community already horrible. he might just end like most 8 year olds that play fortnite, addicted and rude.

this is just my opinion, please do not get mad at me for expressing my feelings toward this child

good day

If you have to say "don't get mad at me" you know your saying something inflammatory and it's better kept to your self.

 

Really most of the community isn't horible, but you hear about the bad people (though I can't think of anyone off the top of my head).

 

And where did you get the idea that only    fortnite playing 8yos are rude? I think it's most 8yos bc that don't know any better. They're f*cking 8! they have literally only been in school learning...... Anything..... For like 2 years! 

[akio123008]

27 minutes ago, Arika S said:

Esports the only career where child labour is OK.... 

A bunch of people will come in to tell you that "it's not child labour because he enjoys it", which not the case.

 

There are good reasons why young children are not allowed to work for money, and whether the kid likes the job or not is irrelevant.

 

Just because it may work out for this kid, because he may be surrounded by nice people, because he'll earn money for college etc, doesn't mean this is good practice. This shouldn't happen.

[tire]

3 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

If you have to say "don't get mad at me" you know your saying something inflammatory and it's better kept to your self.

 

Really most of the community isn't horible, but you hear about the bad people (though I can't think of anyone off the top of my head).

 

And where did you get the idea that only    fortnite playing 8yos are rude? I think it's most 8yos bc that don't know any better. They're f*cking 8! they have literally only been in school learning...... Anything..... For like 2 years! 

ok i get your point, just the reason that i said dont get mad at me is because that my opinion could be unpopular.

also, the only reason i said mostly 8 year olds play is because of the age range, ive talked to people on there that are around 14 15 years old, but there are a lot, and i mean a lot of younger people on there.

the reason could be because of the bright vibrant art style and cartoony skins and such.

so saying that only 8 year olds play is incorrect, yet the game does have a decently young community, and, as you may know, some much younger kids have not yet been taught the proper ways of communication and not being rude.

so yes, my first post was pretty wrong, i think this one is not as wrong. (it might be a little wrong in places)

[Fnige]

What does he sound like?

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, Arika S said:

Esports the only career where child labour is OK.... 

 

Apparently 

It’s not really clear, I think the 33k is meant to be like a salary, but they get away with it, because it is a lump sum, and it’s a low amount. 

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, poochyena said:

really? You need to change your life around some if 2-3 hours of free time sounds like a lot to you

No, my mistake, 2-3 hours for video games. University takes up a large amount - you need to keep working to get good grades required for scholarships etc. if you don’t commit to Uni, you shouldn’t be there, hence why 2-3 hours is too long for me. 
 

Obviously perspective is everything, so if you are not at University or high school, then perhaps you have more time.

[Giganthrax]

The parents are lying. This kid doesn't play 2-3 hours a day. More like 8-12 hours. No pro competitive gamer plays that little and gets paid that much, in any game. 

[Bombastinator]

There have been special schools for “professional children” for a long time.  Kids in that situation tend to come out under educated and maladjusted.  It’s not hard and fast though. 

[williamcll]

Covered this last year:

 

[gloop]

Is Fortnite not rated PEGI 12? I know that tons of children below that age play it but once you get into professional territory is there not something about that?

[Doobeedoo]

I mean all cool as long as parents are normal in the end and everything is managed properly. A lot of opportunities in US which is great for something like esports really.

Even though he's very young I do wonder how good he actually is really.

[Downkey]

3 hours ago, gloop said:

Is Fortnite not rated PEGI 12? I know that tons of children below that age play it but once you get into professional territory is there not something about that?

not an expert on fortnite (i havent played it in a very long time)

But from what I remember, you are allowed to play competitively if you have your parents permission? (You also have too show them proof that you have the permisson, and i'm pretty sure you have to be by the parent at all times)
It's alot more complicated than that but thats all i really know