BEING a gaming superstar is not the “glamorous life” people think it is, teen Fortnite millionaire Jaden ‘Wolfiez’ Ashman has revealed.
The Brit made headlines in 2019 when he became the youngest esports player ever to win $1million, aged just 15.
Now 18, Jaden has shed light on the reality of gaming as a career.
The modest Essex lad says it’s “not really a crazy life” as some might expect.
“People think that you’re going around doing all this stuff but you have to be playing most of the time, so, it’s pretty, I wouldn’t say boring, but it’s not like a glamorous life,” he told The Sun.
“Just playing as much as you can, and then obviously the best parts are once every few months you get to go to an event, that’s probably the most enjoyable part about it.
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“When I go to Fortnite events I feel comfortable, I feel good, people come up to me and ask for pictures and stuff but no one’s like too pushy or anything, it’s always a good experience.”
The teen is now a pro player for Red Bull, taking part in esports tournaments across the world.
He’s yet to come first in a big competition – his big bucks victory in 2019 saw the gamer come second in the duos category of the Fortnite World Cup.
The biggest purchase he made with the winnings was a house for his mum.
Beyond that he’s bought a few PCs “here and there”, top of the range controllers, and the odd holiday.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a saver but I don’t spend on stuff that I don’t really need or just for the sake of it,” he said.
Wolfiez quit school at 15 to focus on his gaming, but reveals he never set out for life to go this way.
“I don’t know where I would be right now – I was smart in school but I also really didn’t enjoy it,” he explained.
“I didn’t really have any set goal of where I wanted to be when I was younger, I didn’t have anything in mind.
“So gaming just happened.”
The gamer also hit out at Fortnite makers Epic Games for being “inconsistent” and “lazy” when it comes catering to competitive players.
The popular battle royale title celebrates its fifth birthday on September 26.
Despite frustrations, Wolfiez believes the game will still be here for many years to come.
“One thing that’s annoyed me a lot is they’re just recycling items,” he said.
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“They don’t actually add new content they’re just giving you back old content, for nostalgic purposes.”
Fortnite kicked off celebrations on Friday with special in-game Quests, as well as a birthday-themed Fortography showcase.
FORTNITE is an online video game played by up to 250 million people across the world.
In it, 100 players compete on their own or with a small group of pals to grab weapons, gather resources and build defences, before fighting it out to be the last man (or team) standing.
Matches take about 20 minutes, and you can drop into a new game within seconds of your previous one finishing.
It’s bright, it’s cartoony and it’s fiendishly compelling.
Skill is rewarded but luck also plays a huge role, meaning no two games are ever the same and everyone feels like they have a chance of winning.
Fortnite has also made its developer billions.
In Europe it’s rated 12+, meaning it’s suitable for those aged 12 and up.
The battle royale mode is free to play, but there is also a story-driven single player and co-op mode called Save The World that players have to pay for.
Pop culture crossover events are very common because of the game’s huge audience.
These involve players being able to buy themed outfits for the movie, TV show or brand, as well as getting some themed activities in-game to do too.
These might be new places to explore, new challenges to complete to win themed accessories, or new game modes that are loosely related to the theme of whatever is being crossed over with.
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