A popular 17-year-old 'Fortnite' streamer was banned from the game for life after he was caught cheating

A 17-year-old member of the mega-popular esports streaming team FaZe Clan has received a lifetime ban from "Fortnite" for cheating in games he uploaded to his YouTube channel.

The gamer, Jarvis Khattri, apologized to his fans in a tear-filled video that has had varying responses.

Many people said that by using "aimbots," a game hack that auto-focuses the player's weapon on opponents, Khattri clearly broke the "Fortnite" terms of services and community guidelines and deserved his punishment.

Some, including Khattri, said that it hadn't been clear the punishment would be as severe as a lifetime ban and that Epic Games, the creator of "Fortnite," had leveled uneven punishments to other gamers found cheating.

A representative for Epic Games, which makes "Fortnite," told Insider that it has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating software, which "ruins games for people who are playing fairly."

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A 17-year-old member of the mega-popular esports groups FaZe Clan was issued a lifetime ban from "Fortnite" after he uploaded YouTube videos of himself cheating in solo rounds and on "playground mode."

Jarvis Khattri, who goes by FaZe Jarvis, became a member of the clan after his older brother Frazier Khattri, the FaZe Clan director known as FaZe Kay, featured him in videos. Jarvis Khattri's channel was almost entirely videos of "Fortnite," his game of choice.

Khattri uploaded a tear-filled apology on Sunday that became the No. 2 video on YouTube Gaming, earning more than 2 million views in less than 24 hours — more than most of his normal gameplay videos. At least one video of him using "aimbots," the software hack that led to his ban, was still up on his channel on Monday.

Aimbots alter the "Fortnite" software — against its terms and conditions and community guidelines — to allow the player's weapon to automatically focus on targets, giving them a huge advantage.

A representative for Epic Games, which makes "Fortnite," told Insider that it has a zero-tolerance policy for those who use cheating software.

"When people use aimbots or other cheat technologies to gain an unfair advantage, they ruin games for people who are playing fairly," Epic Games said in a statement.

In his apology video, Khattri said: "All I was thinking about whilst I was making those videos was just how entertaining and, like, interesting these videos would be for you guys to watch. It didn't even cross my mind to think that I could be banned for life on 'Fortnite' from those videos.

"I just want to be clear: This is my first time I've ever done anything like this, and of course I've never done this in a competitive game mode at all. At the time I posted those videos, I was completely oblivious to what could happen to me, like, what the consequences were. Obviously, this was a huge mistake, and it's completely wrong on my end."

FaZe Clan is a massive team, with subsets for multiple games, that rose to prominence for its "Call of Duty" players. If Khattri remains on the team, he could pivot to other games — his fellow team members have expressed support on social media, indicating he won't be kicked out.

Team FaZe Clan during a break between games at the Call of Duty World League at the Anaheim Convention Center in June. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

People who commented on Khattri's apology video were divided by how they felt about his ban.

Some criticized the monetization of the video — a common gripe toward YouTubers, some of whom have profited from apology videos. Others said his older brother would likely profit from his sibling's misfortune, as Frazier Khattri often produces clickbait-y videos about exposing or pranking him.

Frazier Khattri tweeted: "I can't put into words how upset Jarvis has been this week... please take your time to watch this video and share it."

He also said that his brother "won't be able to make it" to the Simon Cup "Fortnite" event in Los Angeles on Saturday but that he would still be there with a member of FaZe Clan who goes by Cizzorz.

A few FaZe fans said the treatment didn't seem fair, as Epic Games has issued punishments to other streamers found cheating that weren't nearly as intense as a lifelong ban.

Earlier this year, a streaming duo — Damion Cook, known as XXiF, and Ronald Mach, known as Ronaldo — was suspended for 14 days after XXiF was accused of colluding with other players across matches during a qualifier round for the "Fortnite" World Cup. After the suspension, the two scored enough points to qualify for the championship game.

The use of aimbots was weighed more seriously against Khattri, since he hacked the game's software — though, unlike XXiF and Ronaldo, he wasn't playing competitively when he cheated. He said in his apology video that he was playing only in solo rounds and playground mode and using the hack to make YouTube content, as opposed to scoring points to qualify for a championship with a $30 million prize at stake.

Another FaZe Clan member, Blaze, tweeted: "I know this is a sensitive subject but the lil homies doesn't deserve this." The replies to that tweet were also mixed; some FaZe fans said that Khattri was "facing the consequences" laid out in the "Fortnite" community guidelines and that it wouldn't be fair for the ban to be reversed based on the size of his fanbase.

"I'm going to take accountability for my actions and I understand completely why this has happened, I just wish I had known how severe the consequences were at the time and I would have never thought about doing it," Khattri tweeted. "I love all of you who still support me, this is not the end."

Khattri didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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