FaZe Clan is Massive Again

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You remember the early 2010’s, right? Back when “Call of Duty” was the biggest game on the internet, and YouTube was really starting to take off? FaZe Clan was one of the standout groups from that era of YouTube, forever changing the way gaming content was created and consumed. It’s crazy to think about how FaZe Clan started. They were just a group of friends making those amazing Call of Duty trick shot videos. Then, boom, out of nowhere, they became one of the biggest gaming organizations in the world! But just as fast as they rose to fame, they nearly lost it all. They went through controversy after controversy, and it was tough for them to stay on top. But you know what? In the face of all that, they managed to make a massive comeback With a record-breaking subathon in September 2024 and a bold move to completely rebuild their roster. Now you may be asking yourself what the heck is a subathon? Well, let me tell you. A subathon is basically a streaming event where a content creator live streams themselves 24/7 non-stop, with the length of the stream extending as viewers subscribe, hence the name subathon. Basically a subscription marathon

Anyways, let’s not waste any more time here and dive right into how FaZe clan managed to get revived even when all hope seemed lost.

FaZe Clan was created back in 2010 when a bunch of friends who were really good at Call of Duty wanted to make a name for themselves. They weren’t professional players or anything like that but they were determined content creators who focused on trick shots and their skills in the game of Call of Duty. They quickly built a following with YouTube videos showing their insane Call of Duty skills. Fans really loved how they made gaming look cool, professional, and fun. Then in 2014, president of FaZe, Thomas “Temperrr” Oliveira and COO, Richard “Banks” Bengston took a big step by creating the first FaZe shared home in Plainview, New York.

This house was all about producing more lifestyle content alongside their awesome gaming videos. This really helped them connect with their fans on a more personal level.

In the years that followed, FaZe really took off. They grew in membership and popularity, with key members like Adapt, Jev, Banks, and Apex helping drive that surge in popularity. Their charisma and skill really showed in their videos and competitive performances, which brought in tons of new fans to FaZe. FaZe became more than just a gaming team, they became a whole brand. Their logo and merchandise were everywhere, worn proudly by fans. Even a few celebrities started to recognize them. They became symbols of the gaming industry. They began expanding into other games beyond Call of Duty as Call of Duty was losing some steam in popularity. Games like Counter-Strike and Fortnite were really stealing that spotlight that Call of Duty had before. By 2018, FaZe had established itself as a top-tier organization in the esports and gaming world. Their rise seemed to be unstoppable, with different investments, partnerships, and growth across a variety of different platforms. But you know what they say, success comes with its fair share of challenges, and FaZe Clan definitely faced some of those!

As FaZe Clan grew in popularity, the pressure really started to weigh in on them. With so many things to manage like streaming, merchandise, partnerships, content production and competitive teams, they became quite overwhelmed to say the least. Managing a much larger roster than before became extremely difficult, especially when some members got involved in controversies that damaged the organization’s reputation. For instance, in 2019, FaZe Jarvis was permanently banned from Fortnite for using aimbot software for a YouTube video, which sparked a huge backlash despite his tearful apology.

Things escalated in 2021 when several members of FaZe, including FaZe Kay, Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo, were accused of promoting a cryptocurrency called SaveTheKids, which turned out to be a pump-and-dump scheme. This scandal led to Kay’s removal and the suspension of several others. These controversies and disputes significantly impacted FaZe’s reputation.

Besides these public controversies, the financial side of FaZe also started to fail. The organisation had poured tons of money into rapid expansion, aiming to keep up with the broader esports and influencer trends. As prices rose, so did the demands for revenue. The strain became apparent in 2022 and 2023, with several members either leaving FaZe or just let go entirely. Fans, including myself, noticed, and some began to drift away, finding new groups and creators to support.

By late 2023, FaZe Clan was on the brink of irrelevance. The team was not in a good place, with many original members either leaving or distancing themselves from the brand, and FaZe’s once-loyal fans were wondering if the organization could make it another year.

Just when things seemed at their darkest, FaZe Banks made a massive announcement on X/Twitter on April 27th, 2024 regarding the future of the organisation.

He announced a major change in the roster, cutting down to a focused, dedicated group of 14 core members. The roster consisted of Adapt, Apex, Banks, Jasontheween, Jev, Kaysan, Lacy, Nickmercs, Plaqueboymax, Replays, Stable Ronaldo, Rug, Scope, Silky, Swagg, Temperr, Your_rage, and Zoomaa. When this was announced, fans were pretty sceptical if this was going to work out. At this time, the majority of people had no clue who Jasontheween, Lacy, Plaqueboymax and Silky even were. On August 31st 2024, FaZe announced that they would be doing a 30 day subathon for the whole month of September.

Now, the FaZe subathon was a bit different compared to other subathons done in the past. Six key members of FaZe (Adapt, Ron, Lacy, Jason, Max, and Silky) participated in the subathon, each streaming at the same time with their own timers. If one timer ran out, the whole subathon would end. This let fans connect with the streamers better since they were live 24/7, making it quite a unique experience.

The subathon was packed with a bunch of different entertaining segments, ranging from a basketball trick shot segment to a FaZe video game night. One of my favourite segments from the whole subathon was when Ron and Adapt tried to make a grilled cheese at 2 o’clock in the morning. Ron and Adapt have horrible cooking skills. Take a guess what they used as a pan. a strainer. Yes, a strainer. To make this segment even more hilarious, they nearly burned down the whole FaZe house as the strainer actually caught on fire.

Their limited cooking knowledge made this segment extremely funny. Many viewers began to compare Ron and Adapt to Mordecai and Rigby from the amazing cartoon show, “Regular Show”. To make this claim even more factual, at the end of the subathon, FaZe held an award show and just take a guess who won best duo.

 

Yes, it was Ron and Adapt.

Now, one of the most iconic clips of the subathon is when Jasontheween hit 100k subscribers on twitch. To put this into perspective, Jason had around 14,000 active subscribers at the start of the subathon. The fact how he was able to even reach that milestone in just a mere 30 days is just absolutely incredible in my opinion. The clip itself was crazy as each member of FaZe was there in Jason’s room the moment he hit this incredible milestone. And not only that, right after he hit 100k, he started playing New Jeans’ hit song ETA. Which now is one of the most viral songs on the internet right now.

It’s no doubt that the subathon itself went extremely viral, becoming one of Twitch’s most-watched events to date. As new and old fans followed the subathon, the excitement grew. People who had followed FaZe since the beginning felt a renewed connection, while new fans discovered the magic of FaZe for the first time. By the end of the subathon, FaZe had brought in millions of new subscribers and followers, thousands of whom joined just to be a part of the comeback.

The FaZe subathon ended only a week ago, but I think it’s safe to say that FaZe clan is officially back. Thanks to this subathon, FaZe has entered a new era, the streaming era. This new era isn’t just a return to their early days. FaZe Clan has changed, and so have its fans. With more experience, a fresh purpose, and a focus on community, FaZe’s comeback story is inspiring for everyone in the gaming world. This subathon gave me the inspiration to start streaming on twitch actually. In the end, FaZe Clan’s journey shows resilience and the strength of a passionate community. They proved that in esports, a setback doesn’t have to mean the end, it can be the start of something even better.

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