Do Online Gamers have the Most Virus-Proof Job in the World?

You’re sitting in your basement. Your mission? Kill heavily armed Russians before they kill you. Unfortunately, after being cornered, you’ve met your demise. Such is the life of a professional video gamer.

“So, this is not cool,” exclaims Ben Lupo, a.k.a “Dr. Lupo”.

This is a normal day for Ben. In this specific instance, Lupo was streaming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare live on Twitch to approximately 13,000 viewers. There are few other streamers who attract as big of a crowd as Dr. Lupo on Twitch, a live streaming services where fans can follow their favorite games and streamers for free. Audiences can also donate to streamers of their choice.

Since the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to stay at home, something that he does regularly anyway, Lupo says his viewership has raised 25 to 30 percent.

As COVID-19 has affected hundreds of millions of people across the globe, leaving us either working from home, or for many jobless, Ben Lupo’s professional routine has not changed very much. He’s been social distancing since he turned pro 3 years ago. He begins his day at 8 a.m., walks down a flight of stairs to his office, turns on his lighting and camera equipment, and puts in his hours of work through his marathon streams. He’s self-isolating while growing professionally.

So this begs the question: Is “Video Game Live Streamer” the most Virus-Proof job in the world?

By streaming popular video games like Call of Duty and Fortnite, Dr. Lupo is filling the void of the canceled competitive events we’re used to, such as sporting events.  And people are flocking to the streaming services to watch.

Viewership numbers in general on Twitch has increased 31 percent from March 8 through March 22 according to data analytics firm Arsenal.gg.  During that same time period, it was reported that the number of hours a day watched on Twitch rose from 33 million to 43 million.

Doron Nir, the chief executive of StreamElements says, “Live streaming and online video games are the only sports we can watch, right? This is a huge moment of validation.”

Although the pandemic has only helped the popularity of competitive gaming/eSports grow, the online gaming industry, especially Twitch, was already having its best financial year to-date.  Twitch, who is owned by Amazon held nearly 70 percent of online gaming viewership.  Other streaming services such as Mixer, Facebook Gaming and YouTube Gaming are growing in popularity and trying to catch up. 

In lieu of sports like football and baseball whose giant names are all in isolation, all four of these giant streaming services are following the same model that other professional sports subscribe to: sign the biggest superstars to giant exclusive contracts.

Rod Breslau helped start the eSports section of ESPN’s website. He states, “You’ve got the biggest tech companies in the world competing for the top talent to stream exclusively on their platform. That gives the talent agency that works for a guy like Lupo a huge amount of leverage to negotiate.”

Twitch for instance signed Dr. Lupo and two other superstar streamers to multiyear deals worth millions of dollars. Mixer, Microsoft’s streaming service and one of the main Twitch competitors follows the same model. They signed gaming juggernaut Tyler Blevins, better known as “Ninja”, to a deal worth a reported $30 million. Ninja is considered to be one of the best Fortnite players in the world.

It might seem crazy to the average person that online gaming is producing deals like you would see in other professional sports.  However, the gaming industry has become a $150 billion a year sensation, and Lupo and Blevins are celebrities in that world. The gaming industry generates more money a year than the global film and music industries combined according to Newzoo, a gaming analytics firm.  So it’s understandable that these deals mimic those made in other professional sports.

The eSports industry has so much influence that its inspiring athletes, many of whom game themselves, to dip their toes in the pond. Josh Swartz, an executive at gaming talent agency PopDog, said he’s preparing deals with stars from the NBA, MLB and NFL.

“My phone is ringing off the hook with sports agents saying, ‘My guy plays Call of Duty,’ or ‘My guy plays Fortnite.’ These athletes are just stuck at home. In a lot of cases, they are going to end up with their own streaming channel,” Swartz said.

Dr. Lupo recognizes that his rise to become one of the gaming world’s most popular figures was a lucky one. 5 years ago, Lupo began as a part-time streamer as his full-time job as an IT specialist for an insurance company took up most of his time. In the beginning he was streaming a game called ‘Destiny’ and had 8 viewers. But his skill and personality helped cause his channel to grow quickly.

His blowout moment, however, came in the form of a perfectly tossed grenade. He lobbed it at Tyler “Ninja” Blevins while the two were facing off in a first-person shooter called PUBG. The two engaged in a battle in which Ninja was attacking from the rooftop of a building as Dr. Lupo was running for cover. While running for shelter, Lupo lobbed a grenade at Ninja, resulting in Ben winning the battle. A friendship was born, and Lupo’s fame began to skyrocket.

“We hit it off immediately,” said Dr. Lupo. “We were like brothers, and people liked watching that friendship grow.”

Around the same time that the two gamers had started to develop a friendship, global phenomenon Fortnite debuted and the two began to team up to play against others. This opportunity left Lupo serving as a play-by-play commentator at a Fortnite event that ultimately was view by millions of spectators.

Online gamers have millions of followers and fans. Although much of their days are filled with scenarios that seem stressful such as sniping enemies, defusing bombs, and dodging grenades, they’re helping to bring peace and distraction to their viewers from a world that is currently anything but peaceful.

“People are finding ways to distract themselves a bit from what’s going on in the outside world,” Lupo said. “If I’m helping, that’s fantastic.”

So do Video Game Streamers have the most Virus-proof job in the world? Maybe. More importantly, they’re providing an escape for people when they may need it most.

Story via The New York Times