15-year-old gamer makes six figures a year playing ‘Fortnite’

Every day millions of kids (and adults, let’s be real) fantasize about paying the bills by playing video games. Today Griffin Spikoski, who goes by Spectic online, is living that dream.

The 15-year-old makes six figures a year playing “Fortnite,” a popular online multiplayer game. 

“There’s a bunch of ways you can make money playing Fortnite,” Griffin told In The Know. “One of the main is YouTube. Every one thousand views you make a certain amount of money and that can just sort of stack up depending on how many views you get. With Twitch, people could subscribe to you for $5 a month to get certain e-modes and certain perks for that.”

Griffin started playing the game for fun before getting really good at it. Eventually, he was able to climb the ranks of the “Fortnite” leaderboard. But when footage of him defeating one of the game’s most popular players went viral, things took off. 

He became an online and offline celebrity to his peers. The overwhelming crowds at his high school resulted in the anxious teen opting for remote learning. 

“A lot of people still do think that we’re crazy for pulling him from high school and doing the online schooling — and pursuing his passion of video games,” his father Chris Spikoski told In The Know. “Not a lot of people know that there is money involved in it. Not a lot of people know that you can make a career out of it.”

Although his grandparents and parents struggled to understand it at first, they’ve since come around. Spikoski says his son’s anxiety and mood have improved since embracing his love of online sports. 

“I’m doing really good right now and I’m happy where I am,” Griffin said. “The sky’s the limit, right?”

If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s article on the best stress-relieving video games you can play right now.

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