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FaZe Jarvis permanently banned from competitive Fortnite

Pro Fortnite player and content creator Jarvis 'Jarvis' Kaye of FaZe Clan has been banned from the game after using cheat software in a recreational game.

TJ Denzer

November 4, 2019 3:47 PM

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When it comes to competitive gaming, the line has to be drawn when it comes to cheating. That’s a fact, but consistency may be just as important, and that’s an issue Fortnite and Epic Games are facing in regard to a recent decision to ban FaZe Clan pro Fortnite player and YouTuber Jarvis “Jarvis” Kaye for using aimbot software in a recreational game.

On November 3, 2019, Jarvis Kaye posted a video on his YouTube account laying out what had happened on the table. According to Jarvis, he was caught using aimbot software in a recreational game (which is to say, outside of competitive settings) on an alternate account. This resulted in Epic Games’ decision to not only ban Jarvis from Fortnite, but also ban him from future competitive events and even disallow him from creating content centered on the game. You can see Kaye’s entire confession and explanation of the situation in the video below.

Jarvis mentions that he had no idea he could be banned in such a way and, while he takes responsibility for the mistakes he made by using cheats even in recreational play, he also posits his explanation as a cautionary tale for other players.

“Obviously this was a huge mistake and completely wrong on my end,” Jarvis said in the video. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Cheating in anything is just terrible… It’s just such a dumb thing to do. I should have paid more attention to the community rules and TOS of Fortnite. I just want to urge you guys to review those terms and services and stuff so nothing like this could ever happen to you.”

As Jarvis fights back tears, it’s pretty clear he didn’t believe he could face such drastic consequences for engaging in cheating even in recreational games. Despite that, it is cut and dry to Epic. In a statement obtained by TMZ Sports, whether or not Jarvis is sorry, he engaged in cheating and Epic had no leeway for it.

"We have a zero tolerance policy for the usage of cheat software," an Epic Games spokesperson told TMZ. "When people use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly."

For many in the Fortnite community, it’s not so cut and dry, and a big part of that is in how Epic treated cheaters in the past. Many in the community have brought up the Fortnite World Cup. While the winnings went to players that didn’t cheat, there were at least a handful of cases in which players were found to be engaging in less-than-honorable practices during the high-profile event. In particular, players Damion "XXiF" Cook and Ronald "Ronaldo" Mach were caught allegedly colluding with other players to win in the World Cup Qualifiers. Despite this, they were only slapped with a 14-day suspension and were still allowed to compete in the World Cup Duos.

Assuredly, Epic has to take a firm stance on cheating of any kind, especially in a game with such high stakes in its competitive events. That said, Fortnite’s developer may have also dug itself into a hole with the consistency (or arguable lack thereof) in its previous decisions. Riding on the hashtag of “#FreeJarvis,” many in the Fortnite community have argued over whether or not Jarvis’s punishment was too much.

Do you think Jarvis deserved to be banned for life? Is Epic’s decision correct? Regardless, for the time being it seems that Jarvis’s career in Fortnite has come to an abrupt end.

[Featured Image by Jarvis Kaye]

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.