“I used gaming to escape from reality […] Now I’m using reality to escape the damn work.’
Turner “Tfue” Tenney, popular Fornite streamer with more than 11 million Twitch subscribers and former member of Faze Clan, announced he was taking a serious break from “gaming and streaming”. In a tearful YouTube video, the controversial streamer shared his exhaustion at the tedium of content creation.
In the 40-minute video, Tenney shares footage of his first Twitch live streams and YouTube videos, as well as his first impressions of Fortnite – a game he thought was for kids. He also explains the reason for the break, which is that he hasn’t had a large part of his life outside of gaming due to working six to eight hours a day, and notes that he’s 25 years old. “I used gaming to escape from reality,” he said in the YouTube video. “Now I’m using reality to escape the damn work. You know, sometimes I just feel kind of trapped.”
Tenney also mentions he’s been a Twitch partner for eight years and thanks his fans before admitting he needs to take a break. “I just need to take some time off, you know,” he said. He thanks his family for support during his “early career” as well as a number of live streamers who he says helped his career. At the end of the video, he remarks, “One day I’ll be back.”
A content creator since at least 2014, Tenney rose to fame for live streaming Fortnite – making a name for himself as one of the top streamers of the battle royale game. He joined content collective Faze Clan in 2018 before filing a lawsuit in 2019 alleging that the organization was deprived of a share of revenue from brand deals. In 2019, Tenney also made headlines for using the N-word in a live stream while playing Minecraft. At the time, Twitch didn’t respond to The Verge’s request for comment and didn’t appear to have commented on the situation. This wasn’t the first time Tenney had used a racial slur — he used another slur on a livestream in 2018.
It is extremely difficult to make a living as a Twitch streamer and it is incredibly difficult to become an affiliate creator. Even the streamers with the most followers are tied to a busy schedule, streaming a full-time schedule (and often more) to stay relevant and reap the ad revenue. Tenney is also leaving at a time when high-profile content creators are snapping up expensive deals to stream on other platforms, notably Kick — highlighting just how demanding live streaming on Twitch can be.
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