After dropping out in eighth grade to pursue esports, Cody Conrod wants to help others enter the increasingly expensive world of professional gaming.
The 21-year-old competitive Fortnite player, better known as Clix to his more than 8 million Twitch followers, already provides hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gaming equipment through an annual holiday giveaway. Through his new holding company, launched Thursday, he is formalizing those efforts into the Dr3amin Access Fund.
Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular video games, features last-one-standing showdowns where players hunt down each other’s customizable avatars across an ever-shrinking map. Content creators have found loyal audiences by live streaming their exploits on platforms such as Twitch, the livestreaming platform owned by Amazon, and clipping the most eye-catching segments into viral short-form videos.
But the equipment needed to compete at higher levels is pricey — and getting pricier. The massive data center buildout has pushed up the costs of computers, graphics processors and memory chips. Conrod recommends a setup that can handle at least 120 frames per second for a GPU-intensive game such as Fortnite. And even sub-$500, entry-level PCs are becoming scarcer, according to Joost van Dreunen, a longtime games industry researcher and adjunct assistant professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
“Anybody who is starting up early in their career, anybody who is building their first PC, is having an increasingly difficult time finding hardware and components for it,” he said.
Conrod understands the squeeze. His parents couldn’t afford a “crazy gaming computer” when he started playing when he was five. As Fortnite took the gaming world by storm, with publisher Epic Games offering $100 million tournament prizes, Conrod said he had to make do with a “worst of the worst” computer running 30 frames per second.
After months spent begging his parents to help buy a roughly $1,600 computer, Conrod said, his dad wrote up a contract: the teenager would have three months to pay him back by working for his plumbing company throughout the summer.
Conrod ultimately needed just two weeks’ worth of Fortnite earnings to honor the deal.
“If I never had that PC, if I never had access to that computer, this career — this setup that you see — would not be a thing,” Conrod said, speaking from his Dallas bedroom where he streams to thousands of viewers for hours at a time.
By age 14, it was time for another conversation. He’d made nearly $200,000 through the Fortnite World Cup and felt he couldn’t balance classes with his career. Waking up for middle school at 6 a.m. to then compete in tournaments at 6 p.m. left him exhausted. “You can’t be tired when you’re playing,” he explained. Reaction times, he said, have to be “crisp.” After some hesitation, his parents agreed to let him go all-in on competitive gaming.
Esports is still a place where it’s “very hard to make a living,” according to van Dreunen. The real money is clustered at the top, he said, and there’s no “healthy” talent ecosystem. There’s also the stigma — many people still don’t view competitive gaming as a legitimate career, both he and Conrod emphasized.
Conrod hopes that by lifting the financial burden of buying a computer, he can get more parents to let their children test the professional limits of their hobby. “They also have to get good grades if they’re in school,” he added, noting that he made the “still delusional but a little less delusional” move to drop out only when he’d won “a good amount of money.”
Full Box Inc., his new holding company, is inspired by MrBeast’s sprawling media empire, which houses the YouTube megastar’s food brands, production company and philanthropy. Full Box Inc. encompasses Clix’s clothing brand, clipping agency and game studio, among other endeavors.
He’s still figuring out the funding model for the Dr3amin Access Fund. Some proceeds from his clothing brand will support the initiative. Other brands will have the opportunity to donate during his end-of-year giveaway, Clixmas. And he’ll give some, too; last year he said he personally contributed about $100,000 as Clixmas gave away five custom PCs daily throughout the month of December.
Conrod got some proof of concept this past weekend. His team took fourth place — and $120,000 — among 50 duos at the Fortnite Global Championship in Belgium. Among his competitors was a gamer known online as Joshreyli. They’d met two years ago during the first-ever Clixmas when Conrod challenged his audience to eliminate him during a one-on-one match in exchange for a computer. Josh won, got the PC and has since earned six figures as a pro, according to Conrod.
“It’s like a full-circle moment of what helps me want to do more stuff like this,” Conrod said. “Those stories fire me up.”
Cody Conrod, widely known as Clix, is a 21-year-old competitive Fortnite player with over 8 million followers on Twitch. After dropping out of school in eighth grade to pursue a career in esports, he is now dedicated to helping others navigate the expensive landscape of professional gaming. His latest initiative is the Dr3amin Access Fund, which formalizes his philanthropic efforts to provide gaming equipment to aspiring players.
Fortnite, developed by Epic Games, is a popular battle royale game where players compete to be the last one standing by eliminating each other on a shrinking map. The game’s immense popularity has allowed content creators like Clix to build loyal audiences through live streaming on platforms like Twitch and creating viral short-form videos. However, the costs associated with high-performance gaming equipment have been rising, making it more challenging for newcomers to get started.
The demand for powerful computers and graphics cards has surged, driven by the need for equipment that can deliver at least 120 frames per second for games like Fortnite. As a result, affordable entry-level PCs are becoming increasingly scarce, making it difficult for aspiring gamers to find suitable hardware. Joost van Dreunen, a games industry researcher, emphasizes that newcomers face significant hurdles when trying to build their first gaming setups.
Clix’s journey into gaming started when he was just five years old, but he faced financial obstacles early on. His parents could not afford an advanced gaming computer, and Clix had to use a low-end machine that limited his performance. After much persuasion, his father agreed to help him buy a computer, but under the condition that Clix would repay him through summer work. Remarkably, Clix managed to earn enough from Fortnite in just two weeks to honor the deal.
By the age of 14, Clix had made nearly $200,000 from the Fortnite World Cup, prompting him to reconsider his education. Balancing school and competitive gaming was exhausting, and he eventually convinced his parents to allow him to pursue gaming full-time. He acknowledged that esports is still a challenging field where making a living can be difficult, with most financial rewards concentrated at the top. The stigma surrounding gaming as a legitimate career persists, which Clix hopes to challenge through his efforts.
To alleviate financial barriers for aspiring gamers, Clix aims to encourage parents to support their children’s ambitions in the professional gaming space. He stresses the importance of maintaining good grades and emphasizes that he only dropped out after achieving a significant amount of success.
His new holding company, Full Box Inc., takes inspiration from the success of fellow YouTube creator MrBeast, encompassing various ventures including Clix’s clothing brand, a clipping agency, and a game studio. The Dr3amin Access Fund will be funded through proceeds from his clothing line, donations from brands during his annual giveaway event, Clixmas, and personal contributions. Last year, Clix donated around $100,000, giving away five custom PCs daily throughout December.
Clix recently showcased the impact of his initiatives during the Fortnite Global Championship in Belgium, where his team secured fourth place and a prize of $120,000. This event highlighted the potential success stories stemming from his giveaways. One of his past giveaway winners, Joshreyli, who received a computer during the first Clixmas, has since become a professional gamer earning six figures.
Reflecting on his journey, Clix expressed that witnessing the success of individuals he has supported inspires him to continue his philanthropic efforts. He aims to create more opportunities for aspiring gamers, fostering a community where talent can flourish despite the financial challenges they may face.
In conclusion, Cody Conrod, aka Clix, is more than just a successful Fortnite player; he is a philanthropist committed to breaking down the financial barriers in esports. Through initiatives like the Dr3amin Access Fund and his various business ventures, Clix is working to ensure that aspiring gamers have access to the resources they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive and costly industry. His journey from a struggling gamer to a successful content creator and philanthropist serves as an inspiring example for many in the gaming community.
