Imagine this: after years of grinding to make something of yourself, you finally blow up as an internet sensation only to be knocked back down after blundering on an innocent Youtube video. This was the case with 17-year-old Jarvis Kaye, who rose to fame by streaming a popular game called Fortnite.

At the Fortnite world cup, two players, XXIF and Ronaldo, hired players to let them be killed, earning them extra points and cheating other players out of large cash prizes. These players only received a two-week ban for cheating in the most competitive tournament yet to come to Fortnite, so is it fair that Faze Jarvis was permanently banned?

Fortnite is a multiplayer video game created by Epic Games in 2017. In Fortnite, there are three different game modes. The first is “Save the World” where up to four players can team up and fight zombies (controlled by artificial intelligence) and defend bases. The second is a battle royale where 100 players are pitted against each other in an all out brawl to see which squad (or solo) will survive the longest and become the champion. The last game mode is a creative mode where players are given the freedom to build worlds and mini-games for the rest of the world to play. In the past few years, Fortnite has become increasingly popular, making it the most popular game in the world with over 250 million players. It has become so popular that professional players are paid lavishly. Many people have made a living through streaming gameplay of Fortnite.Streamers, such as Tyler Blevins (more commonly known as “Ninja”), have made millions of dollars from playing Fortnite. Many people have used this as their main source of income and put countless hours trying to improve in the game.
Jarvis Kaye, also known as “FaZe Kay”, is a teenager from the United Kingdom who makes a living by streaming Fortnite. However, until November 3rd, 2019, Jarvis uploaded a video of himself using aimbot, a cheating software that allows the user to shoot with extreme accuracy, in-game, blatantly “violating the terms of service” for all of his viewers to see. Aimbot leaves opponents with no chance to win, as they cannot outplay an aimbot-wielding player.
In the terms of service, Fortnite elucidates the idea that the use of software to improve your ability in the game is illegal and will result in a ban of the users account.

The video quickly gained popularity, and days later Epic Games permanently banned the 17-year-old from playing the game, clearly addressing a “zero tolerance policy” for players using illegal software. Epic Games communicated to the BBC, “When cheaters use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly.”
According to Fortnite Insider, Epic games permanently banned Faze Jarvis from playing Fortnite “for posting a video on YouTube where he was using an aimbot whilst playing the game.”
Yet some argue that the punishment given is harsh because he was a minor at the time of the incident. While Epic has stuck to their idea of a fair punishment for cheating, members of the Fortnite community- as well as the gaming community in general -are divided into two groups: those who believe he should be banned for life and those who believe he should be suspended for a finite period of time.
Sophomore Conlan Wilson, a competitive player who frequently plays Fortnite, stated in accordance with Jarvis’ punishment, “cheating ruins the game and he [Faze Jarvis] should’ve known better than to do something like that, especially because he’s posting it to millions of people and epic games is clearly against it.”
Furthermore, Wilson believes “he should be able to know the rules on his own” continuing, “it doesn’t matter whether or not Jarvis was a minor or a streamer,” inferring that Jarvis should be treated like any other player in this situation.
As well as Jarvis being a minor, there is also more controversy regarding a situation dealing with another minor who cheated during a competitive match. In another case regarding a minor within the Fortnite community, a 14-year -old boy was caught cheating during a competitive match for money. According to The Verge, people have viewed epic games as “some praising Epic and others decrying the legal measures as excessive and heartless.”
This testament on behalf of the 14-year-old boy raises questions about the similarity between his situation compare to Kaye’s cheating incident. There is seen to be little difference between the two cases, which poses the question: why did Jarvis Kaye suffer a permanent ban while the 14-year-old did not?
Although, cheating is not a problem limited to Fortnite. It has forever been, and will forever be, an issue in the gaming community.
This incident is not an isolated incident by any means necessary. Other competitive players of games with large followings have also been banned like “KiDx”, a player who was “a top 200 overwatch player in the Region of Korea,” and “ESP Flex”, a player banned while streaming Live. Others include Dark Side, S1mple, OnlyDaxx, Miss Gemini and many, MANY others.
All of these gamers, like FaZe Jarvis, played these games as a career and then lost it all after cheating. This is not a single case anymore; rather, an old age argument of morals.
Now as we look back on Kaye’s apologetic video explaining his faults as tears stream down his face, we must ask ourselves this: Should everyone be given a second chance?