FaZe Clan had quite the Christmas.
We just wrote about how Matt Kalish, the DraftKings co-founder who invested $11 million in FaZe Clan–and took a 49% stake–after its disastrous attempt at going public, had decided to further mine our industry with a new company called HardScope.
HardScope promises to help creators build “empires.” How? By being “the operating system for the creator economy, connecting brands and fans with the most influential streamers built to lead culture.” In practice behind the buzzwords, that means HardScope is providing creators with support around content strategy, production, and distribution, plus social media management–all aimed, of course, at generating revenue from brand deals and putting ads in front of Gen Z viewers.
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But its “empires” are on rocky foundations so far. On Christmas Day, a sizable chunk of FaZe Clan’s core creator roster, some of whom had been with the organization for over a decade, unceremoniously quit.
Streamers Adapt, JasonTheWeen, Lacy, StableRonaldo, YourRage, Kaysan, and Silky all tweeted some variation of “Left @FaZeClan.” Some left it at that, while others gave a little additional context.
“Left @FaZeClan,” Adapt tweeted. “14 Years. Over half of my life, I’d be lying if I said this didn’t hurt, but it had to be done. Thank you to everyone who’s been apart of this journey, the best is yet to come.”
In the days since Christmas, other creators have quit, including former co-owner and COO FaZe Apex and FaZe Rug.
“Officially left @FaZeClan,” FaZe Rug wrote. “This one hurts. After 13 years, I’ve decided to part ways with FaZe. Very grateful for everyone who’s been part of this journey, and the people who became family along the way. FaZe will forever be part of my legacy, but now the new chapter begins.”
During the initial quit wave, none of the creators disclosed why they had decided to leave FaZe Clan. But in FaZe Apex’s Dec. 27 statement, he said the org’s “leadership shifted in a way that made it difficult for me to get involved again.”
“I always intended to see it through to the end and do what I could to help the brand succeed, and it’s finally time to close this chapter,” he wrote. “I have a lot of love for everyone who helped build FaZe, especially the OGs early on, and I wish I had been able to do more to keep things together over the years.”
While Apex didn’t name names, “leadership” likely refers to Kalish, since a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg the reason creators left is that he was pushing them to sign new deals with HardScope.
FaZe creators reportedly spent the past six months negotiating with Kalish and HardScope, but could not come to terms they found favorable–so they left.
Kalish dismissed their concerns, telling Bloomberg, “My best guess is they’re all good kids and have a lot of people in their ear and are confused.” He added that the org’s current financial situation is “unsustainable.”
He plans to continue with FaZe Clan and HardScope.
As all this has gone public, past FaZe Clan members chimed in. PlaqueBoyMax, who left this past August, hinted issues with management were a key part of his own exit. “We have no control,” he said in a Dec. 25 stream. “There was no control, and it’s like we’re puppets. At least that’s what it felt like.”
Plaqueboymax says Lacy being kicked from FaZe Clan earlier this year for missing a video shoot was real, to the point where they felt like puppets being controlled 😳pic.twitter.com/4HoRZ78kn6
— yoxic (@yoxics) December 26, 2025
Banks, who joined FaZe Clan in 2011 and became CEO in 2024 before stepping down this past summer amid allegations of crypto scamming, took a different approach: He criticized those who’d left, saying they had “insane egos” and were “disgusting” and “incredibly fake.”
“These guys had free housing, free filmers & staff, all FaZe channels, [and] zero % income shared,” he tweeted Dec. 25. “Their money and platforms all sky-rocketed after meeting me, but I’m the bad guy?”
It’s worth noting that FaZe Clan faced allegations of mistreatment from creators long before Kalish got involved. Back in 2019, then-member and Fortnite streamer Tfue filed a lawsuit claiming the terms of his FaZe contract–namely that he wasn’t allowed to make his own brand deals, and could only accept sponsorships arranged by FaZe Clan–were “grossly oppressive” and hindering his career.
Tfue also alleged FaZe Clan was not handing over his 20% share of payment for the brand deals it did arrange, and criticized the org’s boilerplate contract as unfair to creators. Banks later admitted the terms of Tfue’s contract were “horrible” for him. The two settled out of court in 2020.
There’s no way to say what might come next. It’s possible we’re looking at the end of FaZe Clan here, whether because of its gutted roster or because of its “unsustainable” financial situation.
Either way, FaZe creators’ mass walkout echoes what happened earlier this year with VTuber org VShojo, and shows that creators are increasingly willing to strike out on their own if they don’t think an organization has their best interests at heart.
