A grandmother who live streams playing video games has said when she was introduced to popular title Fortnite, it was “love at first sight”. Cath Bowie, a 76-year-old grandma from Moray, played popular games like Mario Kart, Fifa and Minecraft with her two grandchildren for years before her grandson, Lewis, 24, introduced her to Fortnite.
Ms Bowie told the PA news agency she became “hooked” on the game and soon set up her own Twitch account, where she live streams herself playing under the gamertag Grumpygran1948, amassing almost 20,000 followers.
Now, Ms Bowie has partnered with Ikea for its Brannboll collection, a range of gaming room furniture. She said: “I didn’t mean to go into gaming. It just obviously happened.”
Ms Bowie, who has been playing Fortnite – a survival game in which players also fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with traps and fortifications – for seven years, said: “I just went into my grandson’s bedroom, where he was playing with his PS4 and I saw Fortnite.
“I didn’t know, obviously, what it was at that time, he had to explain he was playing it, and people speak of love at first sight. Well, it truthfully was for me. I was absolutely fascinated with it, so that was one of the days that, you know, when I’m old I’ll reminisce about my Fortnite game. That’s one day I will never forget.”
She played Fortnite on her grandson’s account “every opportunity” she got, before purchasing her own PS4 gaming console and making her own account. She eventually decided to begin livestreaming, in which she broadcasts the gameplay and her own live commentary on the online streaming platform Twitch.
“My grandson finds it all rather amusing actually, not so much that I play but that I actually stream it,” Ms Bowie said. “He hasn’t seen my room with all the Brannboll furniture in it, but he will at Christmas time, and he’s going to be green with envy that grandma has got all this fantastic stuff. He’s not getting any of it.”
Ms Bowie mostly plays the game with other people from around the world and is proud of the community of gamers she has built. “My community is absolutely fantastic. It really is constant chat and everybody being so friendly with each other. Apart from my husband, it’s my life,” she said.
The grandmother has established a wholesome community in which she has made friends and followers have made connections with each other. She said: “I’ve got folk that joined me that didn’t know each other and now they are playing together after I have finished my stream or before.
“They are fantastic, I just adore my community. The thing that I really like is, some folk have really very bad days in their life. Some folk are not very well, maybe have got some issues, and there is always somebody there to support them.”
Ms Bowie said she was surprised at the “toxicity” she initially encountered on the platform, but now has several people who “protect” her and moderate content to ensure the community remains a pleasant place.
Ms Bowie said it was “absolutely amazing” to be partnering with Ikea to be the face of their gaming room furniture collection. She said: “My community is going to erupt in pleasure when they know what I have been doing. They’ve known that something’s been going on but can you just imagine my excitement to tell them that I am the face of Ikea Brannboll.”
On advice to potential older gamers, Ms Bowie said: “Just go for it. Forget about your age. Just go for it and enjoy yourself. Look at the enjoyment I’ve had.”
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