Girls who game: Liz 'Schvifty Five' builds online empire on foundation of kindness

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Online gamer Liz "Schvifty Five" settled in for a 6½-hour session on the video streaming site Twitch. She showed FOX 13 News how she's building her online gaming empire.

"I am live-streaming in front of a lot of people, hosting my own show, talking to people," she said.

Liz has over 150,000 followers. Between subscriptions and donations, it's how she makes a living.

"Just imagine there's a tip jar, and people can tip you, so if they like what they see they can come give you money," Liz said.

Subscriptions to Liz's stream range between $4.99 and $24.99. During any given live stream, she'll have more than 1,000 people watching.

Influencer Marketing Hub reports 35% of the gamers on Twitch are female. In a male-dominated space, she holds her own.

"Viewers generally want to see males," Liz said. "Because they are taken more seriously. Because they feel a woman can't be good at video games. [I] had somebody yesterday in my chat come in and say, 'Wow, this game is so easy a female is the top broadcaster."

Online harassment and abuse can come with anonymity on the internet.

"There are some pretty horrific things people say online about female gamers. I think women have to deal with a lot more bullying online, more harassment," said Liz.

It's the reason she doesn't share her true identity.

"If you can stay anonymous, that's the best way to survive on Twitch," she said.

She has survived in a big way. One gaming company recently flew her to Germany to play at Twitchcon Europe, a huge gathering of the who's who of gaming, and their fans.

"I always thought that maybe, one day, someone would fly me somewhere to play a video game and now it’s happening!" she exclaimed.

Liz has advice for other female gamers: "Don't take people too seriously. Treat everybody with kindness. Go for it!"