Meet Reetu Slathia – The Homemaker Who Turned Gaming into Her Full-Time Profession

Online gaming has gained immense popularity since the Covid-19 lockdown, especially among youth. However, it is rare to come across gamers in their 40s in India. Breaking stereotypes is Reetu Slathia, a 45-year-old homemaker from Jammu, who took up gaming during the lockdown and turned it into her full-time profession.

Reetu’s gamer son introduced her to online games during the first Covid lockdown in 2020. She found joy in interacting with people from different places in the game lobby and chose a career seldom taken by women in India. In October 2021, she started playing for a live-streaming gaming portal and later began her own YouTube gaming channel.

Reetu, also known as ‘Blackbird’, has over 3.5 lakh followers on the Rooter streaming and gaming platform. Though she earns Rs 1.2 lakh annually, she says the confidence and courage that she has gained are unmatchable. She loves to interact with people from different places in the game lobby, which she finds empowering.

Every day, after completing her daily household chores, Reetu spends 3-4 hours playing online games in front of her computer screen. Although she was always fond of playing games like Ludo and Candy Crush, her son introduced her to online gaming, which she eventually turned into her professional career.

Reetu’s story is an inspiration to many women who want to break stereotypes and pursue their passion, irrespective of age or gender.

Re-Reported from the story originally published in DNA