A gamer is a someone who plays interactive games, either video games, tabletop role-playing games, skill-based card games, or any combination thereof, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Originally a hobby, gaming has evolved into a profession for some, with some gamers routinely competing in games for money, prizes, or awards. In some countries, such as the US, UK, and Australia, the term "gaming" can refer to legalized gambling, which can take both traditional and digital forms, such as through online gambling. There are many different gamer communities around the world. Since the advent of the Internet, many communities take the form of Internet forums or YouTube or Twitch virtual communities, as well as in-person social clubs. In 2021, there were an estimated 3.24 billion gamers across the globe.

Richard Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, is an American online streamer, YouTuber and professional gamer. Blevins began streaming through participating in several esports teams in competitive play for Halo 3, and gradually picked up fame when he first started playing Fortnite Battle Royale in late 2017. Blevins gained the notice of mainstream media in March 2018 when he played Fortnite together with Drake, Travis Scott and JuJu Smith-Schuster on stream, breaking a peak viewer count record on Twitch. Blevins has over 19 million followers on his Twitch channel, making it the most-followed Twitch channel as of March 2024.