Mom tells gamer son not to play Fortnite — he wins $1 million and gifts her a new home instead

From being a purely recreational activity for baby boomers, to an alternate source of income for millennials and Gen Z, video games have come a long way. Gamers and streamers are becoming millionaires in the age of influencers, and one such teenager changed his mom's outlook after buying her a house from the $1 million he made playing "Fortnite."

Jaden Ashman, a 15-year-old from Britain, and his Dutch partner came in second in the duo's section at Fortnite's World Cup in Queens, to take home about $2.2 million split between the two of them, according to The Sun. While Jaden's mom was never too supportive of his focus on gaming, he had a surprise planned for her. "I’m going to buy a house but I haven’t got a clue where. And some Gucci shoes. I might buy a car for my mum too, as she drives a little Fiat 500," he told The Sun. He also intends to start playing professionally after the triumph. "I’m not planning on getting this money and just quitting. I’ve still got a full career of gaming ahead of me."

Jaden, also known as Wolfiez, became the youngest millionaire in e-sports with his win back in 2019 and later revealed to Guinness World Records that he only spent money on the house for his family, while the rest was set aside as savings.

The young man who is in his 10th year, is also planning to quit school but that is not what his mother Lisa Dallman wants. She wants him to finish his GCSEs at Abbs Cross Academy in Hornchurch, East London. Dallman who is also mum to two other kids, James and Katie, said, "He’s only 15 and his schoolwork was a priority to me. It’s not been easy. We’ve had our differences."

She admitted to throwing out an Xbox and snapping a headset after she got calls from school saying he was failing in class. “Jaden is very academic and I want him to do well. I didn’t realize how big this all was. I thought he could play video games but needed to concentrate on schoolwork. The turning point was when he got through to the World Cup," she said.

Around 40 million players tried to compete for the £24million prize pot in New York, but only 178 made it. All qualifiers were guaranteed that they'd take home £40,000, after playing in front of 20,000 fans in the Arthur Ashe tennis stadium. Lisa soon realized his potential, and after Jaden's ESTA waiver was declined she went on to apply for a US visa for her son and swelled with pride when she saw him listed as a “professional athlete” on the forms. Jaden now wants to make his mum proud and even tells her that he wants to take her to New York and show her what he can do.

Fortnite has become a global phenomenon ever since Epic Games launched the game back in 2017. The game is currently played by an estimated 250 million players taking its value to around £6 billion ($7,61,01,90,000).