It’s twin-tendo! Brothers, 20, pay off their parents’ mortgage by making video games 

Identical twins Ben and Matthew Horton have turned the tables, and used money they earned making video games to pay off their parents’ mortgage

Most 20-year-olds these days are pessimistic about their chances of getting on to the property ladder.

And if they were to put down a deposit, they would most likely turn to the bank of mum and dad for help.

But identical twins Ben and Matthew Horton have turned the tables, and used money they earned making video games to pay off their parents’ mortgage on their family home in Norfolk.

Despite dropping out of school at 16, the pair already earn more than £100,000 a year each. 

The twins began making money aged just 13. They created an online game and charged £5 for players who wanted to unlock extra features as they played.

The business expanded from there, with Matthew learning to produce video trailers of their growing number of games and Ben improving his programming skills. 

Their huge success has quickly seen them gain millions of fans around the world and the brothers now live and work together in Crawley, West Sussex but hope to move to LA, the global hub of the gaming industry.

It has enabled them to help council worker father Mark and mother Caroline pay off the mortgage on their family home. 

Matthew told the Sunday Mirror: ‘We did all this stuff because we enjoyed doing it. We’re really fortunate.’

The twins began making money aged just 13. They created an online game and charged £5 for players who wanted to unlock extra features as they played

The twins began making money aged just 13. They created an online game and charged £5 for players who wanted to unlock extra features as they played

Their father Mark was shocked when his sons told him they had £600 in the bank and initially thought they must be dealing drugs. 

But the boys had used the game Roblox, which teachers youngsters how to make their own, to kick start their blossoming careers.

Matt said: ‘When I showed my dad we’d earned £600, he thought it must be from drug-dealing as it was so much. He was so surprised.’

Ben revealed they spent their first £5 on a tub of sweets and 500 marshmallows.

While Matt started focusing on video game trailers, his brother learnt more about programming and user interface.

And just months after the brothers dropped out of sixth form, Matt came up with the idea for adventure gaming movie The Last Guest and Ben created the video game Guest World.

They made £67,000 in its first year of release and the pair went on to create 20 more games on the platform Roblox, with lockdown having a huge impact on the number of people playing their games.

Matt added: ‘Views of my videos have doubled and engagement with our games has increased by 30 to 40 per cent.’ 

Good news for gamers: Playing video games BENEFITS mental health, Oxford University scientist claims 

by Bhvishya Patel For Mailonline   

Playing video games could have a positive impact on a person’s wellbeing, scientists at the University of Oxford have claimed.

Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute accessed the data of two games, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in order to investigate the relationship between game play behaviour and mental health.

The scientists, who worked with Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America, found that players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games saw an improvement in their mental health.

Professor Andrew Przybylski, lead author of the study and director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute, said the findings show ‘video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health’ and there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a person’s wellbeing. 

Scientists at the University of Oxford found that the players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games experienced a more positive wellbeing. (Stock image)

Scientists at the University of Oxford found that the players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games experienced a more positive wellbeing. (Stock image)

During the research, some 518 players of Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and 2,756 players of Animal Crossing: New Horizons were asked to answer a survey on their experiences.

Though researchers admit the study only provides a snapshot, they also say that a player’s subjective experiences during play might be a bigger factor for wellbeing than mere play time. 

Players experiencing genuine enjoyment from the games experience more positive wellbeing, the paper claims.

Professor Przybylski said: ‘Previous research has relied mainly on self-report surveys to study the relationship between play and wellbeing.

‘Without objective data from games companies, those proposing advice to parents or policymakers have done so without the benefit of a robust evidence base.

‘Our findings show video games aren’t necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a person’s wellbeing. 

‘In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people’s mental health – and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players.

‘Working with Electronic Arts and Nintendo of America we’ve been able to combine academic and industry expertise.

‘Through access to data on people’s playing time, for the first time we’ve been able to investigate the relation between actual game play behaviour and subjective wellbeing, enabling us to deliver a template for crafting high-quality evidence to support health policymakers.’ 

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Researchers accessed the data of two games, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (left) and Animal Crossing: New Horizons (right)

The research was supported by grants from the Huo Family Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council.

Professor Przybylski added: ‘Policymakers urgently require reliable, robust, and credible evidence that illuminates the influences video games may have on global mental health,’ the paper concludes.

‘In this study we show that collaborations with industry partners to obtain adequate data are possible.

‘Research with these data can be done to academic standards – ethically and transparently.

‘We are optimistic that collaborations of this sort will deliver the evidence required to advance our understanding of human play and provide policymakers the insights into how they might shape, for good or ill, our health.’

The study comes just months after scientists at Massey University, the University of Tasmania and Stetson University reviewed multiple long-term studies into video games and aggression.

They found playing violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty did not make children more aggressive. 

The study was led by Chris Ferguson, a psychology professor at Stetson University in Florida, who previously dismissed the causal link between video games and violent behaviour. 

In their paper, which was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers said: ‘Studies do not appear to support substantive long-term links between aggressive game content and youth aggression.’