‘In a perfect world, Fortnite could raise awareness’ – I interviewed Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins about the role that streamers and publishers can play in health awareness campaigns, his own cancer diagnosis, and the upcoming fundraising livestream he’s hosting

Renowned Fortnite^[1] streamer Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins is set to host a 24-hour gaming fundraiser event for melanoma awareness later this week on September 19. Gaming For Cause aims to leverage Ninja’s global audience to help inform on the importance of early detection in skin cancers, primarily through mole checks.

Skincare brand La Roche-Posay will be working on the initiative, culminating in a charity livestream that’ll see top content creators jump into Fortnite^[2] and Marvel Rivals^[3], all the while educating audiences on melanomas, a type of cancer that’s notable for its prevalence across a wider age group than some other cancers.

Melanomas and early detection

Recently, I had the chance to speak to Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins. Speaking on the wider age group prevalence of melanomas, Blevins highlighted the core message that he and La Roche-Posay are trying to get across during the upcoming event.

“There’s a lot of, unfortunately, to say this: cancers that are rising in all groups, at a much younger age. I’m not an expert by any means with this stuff, but it’s happening. Since we don’t completely understand the cause yet, and we can’t completely cure it yet as well, early prevention and detection is the one-hundred percent best method.”

Ninja’s cancer battle

During my time with him, it became clear that the issue of melanoma detection is a cause that’s personal to the 34-year-old gaming content creator. He received a melanoma diagnosis in March of 2024, which then led to another mole being checked and diagnosed as a second instance of skin cancer.

“If I’m someone that’s not spending every single day out in the sun, though, mind you, my wife and I live in Florida, so we are getting significantly more sun exposure. The first Melanoma was on the bottom of my foot, and the second one was on my thigh,” said Blevins. “I’ve always stared at this mole on my right thigh, it obviously always got blasted with sun exposure, and I was always like, you know… I gotta keep an eye on this one.”

Why Fortnite?

Gaming seems to be a uniquely positioned space to reach age groups that may otherwise be left out of public health messaging. Gaming For Cause focuses on Fortnite and Marvel Rivals, and I asked Blevins why he thinks Fortnite is the right place for the fundraiser.

“Fortnite is just because it’s a, you know, people call it a children’s game, but I meet fans every single day that are in their mid-20s that tell me that they used to watch all the time for the last, you know, six years, seven years, because that’s how long the game has been out. These kids have grown up. They’re adults now.” He continued, “Some of them have families who were watching me back in 2018, and I think that escapes a lot of people. You know, it’s it, for some reason, it always has the stigma of a children’s game, and it’s just not, it’s for everyone, and it affects all ages.”

He continued to explain how Fortnite’s focus on skins, especially in how inherently synonymous character skins are with the blockbuster Epic Games^[4] franchise, ties in perfectly with some of the key messaging around the event.

“There’s the skin aspect of it, right? Like the hashtag, Save Your Skin. That is one of La Roche’s (La Roche-Posay) hashtags and mottos. There are a bunch of skins in Fortnite. There’s a bunch of skins and more. Skins in Marvel Rivals, too, so we’re tying that together. It’s going to be a little playful, you know, play along with that, it should be good.”

It’s clear that Fortnite’s ever-growing suite of creative tools and bespoke player-created experiences is an area that’s primed to be used to spread awareness on a whole range of important issues. Epic Games’ creation tools are offered up via the Unreal Engine website^[5], and there are tips on how these can be implemented and folded into a teaching curriculum.

Is there a responsibility on publishers to raise awareness?

I wondered whether there’s also a responsibility on the publisher side (e.g., Epic Games) to create experiences that partner with charities to raise awareness and funds for various public health causes. When posed the question of whether there’s space for publishers to consider this, and whether there’s a responsibility for them to do so, Blevins expressed optimism.

“Dude, I wish. It’s such a deeper question. It’s a great question, right? Like, should Fortnite, should Call of Duty^[6]? Should these companies be raising awareness for anything?”

He went on to describe the issue as much more complicated than one might first think. Blevins can see the way companies could, in theory, embark on partnerships similar to his own with La Roche-Posay, but acknowledged the logistical realities surrounding companies as big as Epic Games.

“I think, in a perfect world, Fortnite could, and all their game companies could work alongside companies like La Roche and raise awareness and do these amazing things for this charity, you know, for this awareness. But is it an obligation for them? I don’t know. I think that maybe, if it speaks to the owners and the CEOs, etc, if there’s something that they want to be a part of. But I think it’s a balance for them, for sure. I think it’s very much not black and white. And that’s really all I can speak to on that. I imagine it’s much more complicated than that, unfortunately.”

Despite using his own platform as a space to push the issue of melanoma awareness, Blevins does acknowledge that every streamer’s approach is likely to be different. He remarked on the importance of personal choice regarding how a creator wants to use their space, noting the many different reasons people might be tuning into a particular streamer in the first place.

“It’s one of those things where you want these games to kind of be an escape in some way, right? Especially with streamers too, which is why I do think it’s important for streamers to have good causes that they care about and they support. But also, I do understand that every streamer has a right for their stream and their place to be, like a safe space from all that stuff as well. I totally get both sides.”

Fortnite and Marvel Rivals modes being played

Gaming For Cause focuses mostly on Fortnite and Marvel Rivals. And Blevins explains that there’s set to be a mix of competitive and other modes being streamed on the day.

“I think I’ll have a little bit of custom stuff in it, because it’s always, it’s always nice to have, like, a relaxing, fun moment where, you know, you’re not sweating the entire time. But Marvel Rivals will more than likely be in competitive ranked mode. I’ll find a way, you know, I’ll find I’ll play it down, I’ll make it funny, and I’ll change my skins constantly as well to and every single time I do that, I’ll reference the hashtag. So it’ll be, it’ll be really authentic and natural. I know that that’s gonna be great. But if I only do competitive for 12 hours, that’s gonna be bad. For me, yeah.”

Striking that balance between having fun, raising awareness while also leveraging the competitive style of play that Ninja is known for, is going to be a key focus for Blevins. He tells me that, while taking part in similar events as Gaming For Cause, he’s had that balance front and center in his mind.

“I gotta find the balance of having fun and remembering what I’m doing it for, which is one of the things I always struggle with. Whenever I’m doing a charity stream, I want to have so much fun. But I remember doing sponsor streams with Lupo (DrLupo on Twitch). He would always do St Jude charity streams, and like, when you would donate, it’d be like, ‘drop your weapon or don’t use a shotgun the entire time’, and it’s like, well, I can’t win these games! and I want to! I want to win, but I also want to raise money so I get it, I’ll find the balance for sure.”

How viewers can get involved

On the day of the Gaming For Cause event, there will be moments where dermatologist Dr Daniel Sugai drops in to offer his expert advice on melanoma detection. Ninja and other streamers will be reinforcing these messages throughout the 24-hour livestream as well, with 100% of donations going to support the Union of International Cancer Control (UICC). This will fund free health checks via local NGOs, with the aim of early detection for melanoma prevention.

Ninja highlighted the ways in which viewers can help support the stream.

“Word of mouth is so important, sharing the stream is so important, being there and just, you know, hyping it up and telling people about it can be just as effective, if not more effective than donating to the charity. But of course, we would always appreciate even $1 going to help us hit our goal.”

One message to take away

According to a study referenced by La Roche-Posay in the promotional info sent to the press, melanoma rates are predicted to continue rising globally each year^[7]. The gaming space emerges as a key avenue for leveraging public service messaging, and hopefully, Gaming For Cause will be more proof of this. I asked Ninja to choose one core message that he’d like to relay, one takeaway that he hopes the audience leaves with once the 24-hour livestream ends.

“An hour-long appointment could save your life. And it’s definitely worth it.” He continued, “I have stories of my viewers that would be like ‘I saw them all on my friend or on my significant other, and suggested we get it checked out’, just simply from talking about it. That’s all it takes. Word of mouth, and just having it in the front of your mind, so that you’re aware.”

Gaming For Cause takes place on September 19 at 10AM EST / 7AM PST / 3PM BST, streaming on Ninja’s YouTube^[8] and Twitch^[9] channels. You can head to the Gaming For Cause website^[10] for more details on how to donate and to check out a countdown to the start time.

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