Pro video game streamers are used to spending their days in isolation. And a huge new audience is at home to watch them play.
Ben Lupo sat in his basement in Omaha one recent afternoon, trying to kill a brigade of heavily armed Russians before they killed him.
“I’m getting shot at already, dog,” he said into a headset, as the sound of machine guns echoed in the air. “So, this is not cool.”
Moments later, the Russians had cornered and finished him off — also not cool. It was a grisly end to an ill-fated campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a first-person shooter video game set in the fictional country of Urzikstan.
Mr. Lupo did not stew over his demise. He didn’t have time. About 13,000 people were watching him live on Twitch, the streaming platform where hordes of fans can pay to follow the best online gamers in the business. Few attract bigger crowds than Mr. Lupo, and since the coronavirus began forcing people to shelter in place, his crowds have only grown. He estimates that his viewership is up 25 to 30 percent…
To read thee entire article from The New York Times, click https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-video-game-streaming.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_200412&instance_id=17582&nl=todaysheadlines®i_id=8132155&segment_id=24848&user_id=65b717b66edc63765dab801f87b46fa8
