Fortnite millionaire FaZe Jarvis ‘made $37K from his apology video’ after being caught cheating

He may have been banned from the sport for cheating, but a video of him apologising for doing so means the money’s still flowing.

Banned Fortnite cheat FaZe Jarvis has made an estimated $37,300 from his apology video.

The British YouTube millionaire, 17, sobbed on camera after being caught using notorious “aimbot” software – which shoots and kills rival players automatically.

As a result, Fortnite creator Epic Games banned him for life for breaching its rules.

Jarvis quickly posted an apology video for cheating, which has been viewed more than 6.7 million times in just three days.

Marketing and talent agency The Fifth said that Jarvis likely earned tens of thousands of pounds from the clip.

Jarvis joked and bragged about using aimbots to cheat.

“A safe guess is between the two figures $US25,000 and $US36,000 ($A36,000 and $A52,000),” they told The Sun.

But they added: “This could be way higher, closer to $US50,000 ($A72,000), however we don’t have access to things like video retention, geography, quality of viewers etc.”

We also spoke to digital marketers at London’s Fusion Media, who use an earnings-estimation tool called SocialBlade.

He later posted a teary apology on his YouTube, where he makes money off of advertising.

According to the app, Jarvis made somewhere in the region of $US27,000 ($A39,000) from the clip – or at least $US3400 ($A5000) in a worst-case scenario.

And influencer marketing agency Pro Seeders agreed that Jarvis almost certainly made huge sums of money from the clip.

“This video would’ve achieved $US15,000 to $US20,000 ($A21,000 to $A29,000) ad revenue,” a spokesperson told The Sun.

Stats on his videos indicate Jarvis raked in cash from his apology.

“The figure fluctuates depending on a day-to-day basis, but will be within that bracket.”

YouTube creators can choose to “demonetise” their videos if the topic is sensitive enough.

This stops them earning ad money and helps them avoid outrage and a PR catastrophe if they’ve done something wrong.

But ads are still appearing on FaZe Jarvis’ clips, which means YouTube will pay earnings out to the star.

Millions have watched his apology.

Sadly, it’s impossible to say exactly how much the Fortnite cheat will earn, because the payouts are based on ad engagement – rather than views.

That means marketers have to make estimates based on data they already hold.

The shamed gamer’s video has nearly 185,000 comments and more than 335,000 likes.

But it’s also racked up 110,000 dislikes – around a quarter of the “thumbs” interactions.

Jarvis provoked outrage for his use of an “aimbot” in a clip of himself that he uploaded to YouTube.

And only yesterday, The Sun revealed how Jarvis has boasted that he’d make even more “aimbot” videos if his fans gave him more YouTube likes.

The loaded teen apologised in a teary video, but Epic Games said their decision to ban Jarvis is final.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for the usage of cheat software,” an Epic Games spokesperson said.

“When people use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly.”

Epic Games has banned Jarvis for life

It comes as the teenage YouTube star’s mum defended him, calling for forgiveness because he didn’t “physically hurt anyone”.

In his original clip (now deleted), cheating Jarvis brags: “I don’t miss a shot.”

And the YouTuber – who has earned an estimated $A3.7 million from gaming – even promised to make more cheating videos.

In the clip, he’s heard saying: “You guys wanna see me play squad, duo with some people like that, make sure you give me a like.”

He’s referring to playing live games against real players using aimbots in exchange for likes.

“That’s gonna be a lit video,” Jarvis boasted.

“It was so much fun filming this. This was definitely one of the best videos I’ve ever filmed.

“Make sure you leave a like for more aimbot fun and I’ll see you on the next one.”

But after Epic Games banned Jarvis, the sorry lad apologised and said he had only activated them for instruction videos – and never in competitions.

Speaking about his use of aimbots, Jarvis said: “All I was thinking about while I was making those videos was just how entertaining and interesting these videos would be for you guys to watch.

“It didn’t even cross my mind to think that I could be banned for life from Fortnite from those videos. I just want to be clear that this is the first time that I have ever done anything like this and of course I have never done this in a competitive game mode at all.

“Epic Games you know I know how big of a mistake I’ve made and I’m truly like so sorry.

“Epic, I know I have to take accountability for my actions and I’m going to do my best to accept any punishment that comes my way.

“I’m not trying to find a quick road out but being banned forever is just – a lifetime ban – is just, I just didn’t think this would happen.”

I’m going to take accountability for my actions and I understand completely why this has happened, I just wish I had known how severe the consequences were at the time and I would have never thought about doing it. I love all of you who still support me, this is not the end.

— FaZe Jarvis (@liljarviss) November 3, 2019

FaZe Jarvis thinks the lifetime ban is excessive.

But fans of the game have already branded him a “crybaby”, and say the star knew the consequences of cheating.

“He also went on a separate PC to avoid a ban,” said one gamer on Reddit.

“He knew exactly what he was doing, now he’s just being a crybaby.”

Another said: “I don’t know how he can genuinely sit there and cry at a camera when he made the conscious decision to download and use hacks.”

One furious player wrote: “Not only did he use cheats, he made a … 15-minute video showing them off.

“That definitely warrants a lifelong ban. I don’t understand how people can be defending this.”

Many gamers point out that normal players receive bans for cheating – so online celebrities should be no different.

Fortnite’s terms of service strictly forbid the use of cheating software, regardless of who is using them.

Some Fortnite fans pointed out that YouTube stars should be especially careful, because they can encourage other users to cheat.

“A famous person should be aware of the consequences. That’s it,” said one Reddit user.

“It’s over, you learn your lesson. You face the same consequences as a normal person, and him being a content creator means a ton of people are going to hack.

“If it’s a 3-month ban they’d be like ‘oh I’ll hack anyway, 3 months is a slap to the wrist’.”

Yesterday, the star’s mum, 60, told the Mail Online that the gaming community should “rethink how it treats people”.

Speaking outside their family home, Barbara Khattri said: “Jarvis made an error and he admits that.

While some have leapt to his defence, others have said Jarvis deserved to be banned.

“He’s broken. He loves that game. He doesn’t have a devious bone in his body.

“What I really know is that for any mistake that doesn’t physically harm a person, there should be the chance to make amends.”

Mrs Khattri was speaking at the family’s attractive detached home in leafy Surrey town Oxted, which could be worth around $A2.4 million.

Using aimbots is banned by Epic Games’ rules and those caught can have their accounts locked and deleted.

Jarvis is a member of eSports team FaZe Clan and insisted he had only activated them for instruction videos and never in competitions.

FaZE Clan was founded in the US in 2010 and competes in various video game tournaments.

Online game Fortnite is hugely popular and each 20 minute session sees competitors try and stay alive.

Famous fans include Spurs football ace Dele Alli who got the whole England squad interested last year in the World Cup.

In July this year, 15-year-old Brit Jaden Ashman won $A1.87 million at the Fortnite World Cup.

Earlier this week #FreeJarvis was trending on Twitter with fans defending the player.

One supporter said: “But what about other YouTubers who hack and post videos on YouTube about it, they get away with it, and now cause it’s FaZejarvis there gonna do that, man @FortniteGame you guys are clowns.”

Mrs Khattri previously spoke out about the controversy in a Facebook post.

She said the decision to ban her son from Fortnite had left him in “despair”.

The doting mum wrote: “A very wise friend of mine said, ‘Well the thing is you can never be happier than your unhappiest child’ – wow, so-so true!

“It’s my turn at the moment to be feeling that abject pain, despair and helplessness today. My youngest son Jarvis made a genuine, naive error of judgment and is currently banned for life from something he loves.

“It’s been a very long, tough week and I’ve woken this morning with it trending on Twitter where there is both overwhelming support and criticism for him.

“As not only a parent and a boss but mostly as just a person, I know first hand how so often the lesson is so much better learned when there is the opportunity to take full responsibility and actually in whatever way fix or right the wrong!

“I pray for Jarvis that this is the case for him. I’m not looking for agreement with my point of view at all, I just thought that there’s as much power in sharing when we feel scared and confused as when we’re on top of the world.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission