Behind a keyboard or game controller, you can go anywhere (Picture: Getty/Myles Goode/Metro.co.uk)

With a hot water bottle, heated blanket and cup of tea, Anne Fish is all set for the evening.

After putting on her gaming headset, she switches on her computer and dives into the online world of Fortnite. 

For the uninitiated, players are dropped at random on a map of a fictional world and forced to battle to become the last one standing.

With the opportunity for users to continually chop and change their image in the form of skins through paying for Vbucks, Fortnite has evolved into a billion-dollar industry since its launch in 2017.

The game’s landscape has branched out with film screenings, fashion shows and gigs from the likes of Ariana Grande, Travis Scott and Eminem. Players can even be ‘signed’ by big companies to make money while streaming, leading to the term ‘e-sports’ being coined.

While the average Fortnite player age is 18-24 (62%) and predominantly male (90%), Anne is aware she doesn’t tick either of those boxes. 

At 61, she isn’t your typical ‘gamer’, but insists there’s more like her than you would imagine. Anne is competitive and wants to make the final of the Fortnite Champion Series (FNCS)- this tournament is a big deal – within the next few years.

Anne and Benjy have a combined follower count of 4,548,000 on Twitch (Picture: Emily Mudie Photography)

Anne, who plays from her cosy living room in Sunbury in Surrey, tells Metro.co.uk: ‘When I say I’m a gamer, the reaction depends on the generation. If I speak to my peers then they don’t always understand what gaming or content creation is.  It’s a different world that they are not familiar with.

‘But Esports is a growing industry. There are opportunities to get involved in all areas – not just as a player – but as a content creator or influencer, coaches, social media, video editing, photography, broadcast and production, in addition to the general roles of marketing, sales, PR, advertising, business development.’

Anne has even teamed up with Johnny Troset Andersen, father of 19-year-old gamer MrSavage, to write a book explaining the world of e-sports and online gaming to parents. They want more mums and dads to take pride in their children’s virtual achievements rather than shutting them down.

‘I have a lot of parents in my streams who play with their children,’ she explains. ‘There are also kids who comment and say they wish their parents would play with them. 

‘Watching your child compete in a game really is no different from watching them in a sporting match or in a play at school, there’s huge potential.’   

Anne got into gaming in the years after her husband David died from oesophageal cancer. Their older son Charles was seven and brother Benjy was seven-months old, at the time. Growing up, both boys took an interest in gaming, initially with consoles such as the Wii and Nintendo 64. 

On a Sunday night in 2019, Benjy burst into Anne’s bedroom to exclaim he’d won $10,000 in an online Fortnite competition. He had played for several months by this point, but this was his mum’s ‘first inkling’ of something life-changing at play.

So, Anne decided to explore the game herself in a bid to connect with her son’s passion – and soon became hooked. She’s made a lot of money by streaming gameplay videos – enough to buy the house she’d previously rented.

Two years ago, her skills saw her being signed by e-sports firm to represent her in tournaments and streaming on Twitch and YouTube. Meanwhile, her son, Benjy ‘benjyfish’ Fish, has become one of the world’s most successful professional Fortnite players.

Anne, who plays as ‘mamabenjyfishy’ adds: ‘It has been surreal to see the support across all my social media channels, especially, YouTube. I stream for maybe eight, ten hours.

‘I have an amazing community and it is great to see them enjoying the content from both Benjy and myself.

Benjy and his mum Anne took to Fortnite like a fish takes to water (Picture: Emily Mudie Photography)

‘I am in it for the long haul, I am quite competitive and that drives me as I want to be the best I can at the game.’

Anne is one of a growing number of people who have found gaming in later life. In the past three years, partly due to the pandemic, the number of gamers aged between 55 and 64 has increased by a staggering 32%. 

Gamers such as 87-year-old Shirley Curry – who calls her fans ‘grandkids’ –  and 93-year-old Hamako Mori – who plays anything from Grand Theft Auto to Call of Duty – have amassed huge followings online. 

In the States, 72-year-old Trippe recently celebrated 70,000 subscribers on YouTube. To mark the occasion, he put on a special livestream of his favourite game: Minecraft.

With his relaxing voice, trademark waistcoat and fingerless gloves, the pensioner’s videos have captured the hearts of thousands.  He’s collaberated with brands such as Burberry and has built up a community of fans from Argentina to Africa.

And the older generation – such as Trippe – are loving every moment (Picture: ChattyGrandpa/YouTube)

‘I have this drive with my gaming. I have over 70,000 subscribers now and I’m 72,’  Trippe tells Metro.co.uk.

‘Maybe I’ll have a million subscribers in five years when I’m 77 years old. Imagine that. 

‘Some days I do think “why am I doing this?” I could be sat on a porch in a rocking chair, watching the world go by.

‘But I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I’d be around for another ten years or so, maybe more. I’ll keep playing, for sure.’

Trippe, from Miami, discovered his passion for gaming when he retired. His first love had been music. As a teenager, he started a band called ‘the Blue Sensations’ and was inspired by the Beatles. He continued to play in bands outside his work as a government financial analyst for the US Government.

But, after retiring in 2015, Trippe realised he didn’t have the same energy for music and performing.  But a new love had been found: gaming.

Trippe in his band days with the Blue Sensations (Picture: Trippe Shelle)

‘The only time I’d played a video game in my life was in the mid-eighties. My brother and I bought an Atari where we played a game where you would shoot aliens,’ he explains. ‘It was a very addictive experience. 

‘It was decades later I realised I’d missed out on three or four decades of gaming while being busy with work so, when I retired, I just thought I’d mess about with it.’ 

Trippe opted for Minecraft after watching a few videos online. One of his favourite YouTubers is internet sensation PewdiePie – who he would love to play with one day.

But the dad-of-one’s success online didn’t come easy. He admits he was left ‘close to tears’ when he first struggled to get up to speed with uploading his videos. 

‘I would curse at the computer sometimes, there was just so much to work out,’ he says. ‘I got so despondent about having to learn everything at once. ‘But then a few names appeared under my YouTube videos as people left comments, then there were a couple hundred names, then thousands.

‘It makes my day to see someone new watching my videos. It drives my day, really. I check my analytics on my phone every morning.’

Trippe, who plays under the username ‘ChattyGrandpa’ used to keep his online gaming secret, only telling close friends and family. But as his success has grown, so has his confidence. He’s proud to say he’s a gamer.

And like Anne, he’s in no rush to hang up his mouse. He wants to get better, gaming is his new purpose. In Minecraft he can build houses, dodge lava and climb hills – and fulfill a sense of adventure his age may hinder in the ‘real’ world. 

That’s the case for writer Richard Sparks. Long after his wife went to bed, the 72-year-old would sneak into his study to load up games on his computer such as Elder Scrolls Online or Mass Effect 3.

The huge maps, fantasy worlds and range in characters captured his imagination.

But Richard’s first steps into the world of online gaming arrived in the early noughties. He’d read about Chris Moneymaker, a poker player who won the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker in dramatic fashion, after qualifying through a $39 online tournament.

‘I thought, if he can do it, so can I,’ adds Richard, who spends his time between Los Angeles and London.

Richard Sparks has connected with new friends worldwide thanks to MMRPGs (Picture: OKUN)

Although he initially tinkered with the world of online poker, he soon became distracted by Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMRPGs for short).

Such games typically take place in fantasy worlds with endless opportunities for exploration. Players from across the world can team up in a virtual space to complete a variety of challenges. 

Richard continues: ‘I fell in love with the world of MMRPGs. When I found them, I realised gaming wasn’t like the old days in arcades. 

‘Video games aren’t like a movie where you sit back and watch. You get to be the hero of your own story. You can be anything depending on the game, whether that be an orc, a battlemage, an elf, a wombat.

‘And you don’t have to do combat, you can wander about and make friends, maybe sink a couple drinks in a virtual tavern.

Richard’s new novel is inspired by his experiences playing games online (Picture: Christina P. Myrvold)

‘While playing Elder Scrolls Online I’d be weeping into laughter some nights. Our best “leader” was an older woman from a southern state in America, Tennessee it might have been. She had a gloriously potty mouth.’

Richard’s written a new book – New Rock, New Role – which tells the story of a widower who discovers the world of online gaming in his later years and sees his life – through his virtual alter-ego Daxx – transform.

Richard adds: ‘I had wondered what would it be like to truly be a heroic young battlemage with a magic staff – instead of an old fart with a keyboard.

‘The book came from there. I want people to let their minds “rock out” and just enjoy the ride.

‘The older you get, you don’t have the same reactions you used to. You still have the yearning for adventure, but you might not have the knees for it. But behind a keyboard, you can go anywhere.’

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