Tfue lawsuit: Why is Fortnite player suing Faze Clan and what is ‘release the contract’?

Argument has become increasingly public and bitter

Two of the world's most famous e-sports players are locked in a bitter and public fallout that has shook the core of YouTube and competitive gaming culture.

Pro Fortnite player Tfue has accused his e-sports team, FaZe Clan, of of mistreating him during the time they worked together. He is suing the organisation, arguing that he is an artist and that arrangements to share revenues from his work are unfair.

FaZe Clan says that those characterisations of their business dealings are incorrect and that it hopes the two sides can work towards a resolution.

That fallout has led to a popular hashtag, spread by fans of Tfue, that goes under the name "#ReleasetheContract".

He posted a short video discussing that contract – as well as disavowing other claims about how he had been treated by FaZe Clan – in which he called the agreement "bizarre" and encouraged people to ask for the contract to be released. Mr Tenney said there was "tons" of people in similar contracts, and that he was acting on behalf of the e-sports community more generally.

The full details of the contract between the two sides is not entirely public, and Tfue – whose real name is Turner Tenney – says that making it public would help bring the dispute to an end.

The owner of FaZe Clan, Richard Banks, has tweeted in response to that viral campaign to say that the contract will indeed be released.

"By the way we ARE indeed releasing the contract," he wrote on Twitter. "Just got off the phone with the hirer ups and we're preparing it for you guys now. I have nothing to hide and everything I've said throughout all of this is the truth. We tried for a straight year to come to a new agreement."

When asked why he did not simply sever ties with Tfue, Banks said that retaining the agreement between the two sides would be best for both of them.

"Because I fkn helped him blow up and changed that kids entire life," FaZe Banks continued. "The very least I could ask for in return is he stay loyal to me and the brand that gave him his first real shot. Like what? FaZe is what's best for him."

The relationship between the two has been soured in public, with both making videos attacking the other. The YouTube community at large has also posted a host of videos, with many of the world's biggest gaming stars responding to the controversy.

The argument has led to questions about some of the fundamental ways that the e-sports and online gaming world work.

Professional gamers can make millions of dollars through streaming on Twitch and YouTube, playing in tournaments and other commercial agreements. The money generated through them tends to be split with the teams they are involved with.

While the e-sports and online gaming world generates vast amounts of money, the exact financial agreements that underlie it are often unclear and undeveloped.

Specifically, the dispute revolves around how professional gamers interact with the teams that can help make them famous. Such relationships usually depend on revenue sharing agreements of the kind that are now in dispute, but the details of those agreements has remained largely murky and undiscussed.