Ninja advises new streamers to avoid playing ‘big’ games, despite this being his claim to fame-Kitty Gregory-Entertainment – Metro

Ninja shares the do’s and don’ts of streaming. (pic: Google)

One of the most successful streamers of all time has offered some expert advice on how to become as popular as him.

If you’re at all interested in Twitch, Fortnite or gaming influencers in general, you’ve likely heard of Ninja – real name Richard Tyler Blevins.

Ninja shot to fame in late 2017, with the release of the worldwide phenomenon battle royale Fortnite. As Fortnite’s popularity soared so did Ninja’s and by March 2018 he had accumulated 3 million Twitch followers – the highest number the website had ever seen.

Now, with over 18 million Twitch followers, Ninja understandingly has a bit of streaming know-how up his sleeve. And what better way to use that information than to share it with his loyal fans?

In a short video posted to Twitter by CNET, Ninja talks about how best to garner an online audience. One of his main points is that aspiring streamers should focus on playing games with smaller audiences, rather than big, popular games.

‘It’s important to start with a smaller game that has a smaller, more tight-knit community. Because in the directory of the game that you’re playing, you’re not gonna be buried behind, you know, millions of people who are streaming Fortnite,’ Ninja says.

This advice does hold true; Twitch often pushes streams with high viewerships, while those with only a couple of viewers – or even none – are shoved to the bottom of the game’s directory. But if there are less people playing a particular game, it’s easier to be discovered.

‘You can work on building your community, and you’re way more easily discoverable in a smaller game,’ he adds.

However, Ninja does contradict himself somewhat with his advice. Despite urging budding streamers to play less popular games, he gives another piece of guidance.

‘The easiest way to build a following is just to be really talented at the game that you’re playing,’ he says.

‘The easiest way to build a following is just to be really talented at the game that you’re playing,’ says popular streamer Ninja. (pic: CNET)

So, what does this advice mean for small streamers who are really talented at Fortnite? Should they give up trying to cultivate an audience there? The answer is unclear, but at the end of the day, there are no hard and fast rules to success.

After all, Ninja admits that he ‘got lucky.’ So, who’s to say small streamers won’t find their big break doing what they do best?

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