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Forget math. Parents now pay ‘Fortnite’ tutors to improve their kids’ skills

Gabe Gurwin
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It’s pretty common for parents to pay for their children’s piano or tennis lessons, but what about paying for them to get better at video games? Tutors are now offering their services to help kids improve their Fortnite skills, and parents have been more than willing to pay up.

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A new report from The Wall Street Journal profiled several parents who paid hourly rates to get their children lessons with Fortnite tutors, who promised to improve their skills. Using a freelance labor website, Ally Hicks, who lives in Winchester in the U.K., found a tutor for her 10-year-old son. In exchange for $50, the tutor provided him with four hours of Fortnite lessons.

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The trend has caught on in the United States as well, with father Nick Mennen paying a $20 hourly rate for his son to receive lessons. He hopes his son’s improved skills will eventually earn him a scholarship.

Parents have also begun taking the lessons themselves, in order to improve their skills enough to compete alongside their kids. We’re not sure if that will ruin Fortnite for the kids, but they’ll undoubtedly move on to the next big thing eventually.

Gaming scholarships are actually a real thing in 2018, and Ohio’s Ashland University even includes Fortnite as one of the games you can use to get a discount on tuition. Other games eligible for scholarship include Overwatch, League of Legends, and even Rocket League. We’re pretty sure Psyonix didn’t envision its game being used to get kids into college, but it’s a happy accident.

Esports are beginning to receive similar recognition and support as traditional sports, with cable channel ESPN even broadcasting the finals of The Overwatch League in July. The network will continue to broadcast footage from the league’s second season in 2019, and we’re betting that other video games will also see support. Fortnite will likely be among them, and with Epic Games continuing to offer new content updates on a regular basis, the company is unlikely to see player counts fall anytime soon.

Fortnite is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, and iOS, with an Android version on the way.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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