A History of Kick Streaming — How the Platform Became Big
Since its launch in 2022, Kick has enjoyed a meteoric rise to become one of the internet’s leading livestreaming platforms. Owing to its generous creator terms, deals with big-name streamers and willingness to challenge Twitch’s dominance, it has now become one of the industry’s biggest players.
Even five years ago, Twitch and YouTube were at the forefront of the streaming industry, and creators picked either platform when they wanted to create content and develop their brand. The Kick streaming platform launched in 2022, backed by Bijan Tehrani, Ed Craven streamer Trainwreckstv.
Growth since then has been remarkable, but despite being considered the best-paying livestreaming platform and Twitch’s biggest competitor, Kick streaming is still controversial. Here’s a deep dive into Kick streaming’s history, with notable milestones and analysis into why the platform has become such a success.
What is Kick streaming, and who created it?
Image credit: Kick
Kick is a livestreaming platform that was co-founded by the owners of crypto casino Stake, and the platform was launched as a direct competitor to Twitch, offering a more lucrative 95-5 revenue split to attract streamers. Some of the biggest names to join Kick soon after its launch included Adin Ross and Feliz “xQc” Lengyel. Adin had sponsored with Stake following his infamous permanent Twitch ban and started streaming on Kick. xQc signed a non-exclusive deal with Kick, reportedly worth $100 million, and started to broadcast casino content on the platform.
Kick has always marketed itself as a creator-first livestreaming platform, even publicly taking digs at Twitch for its lower revenue split. However, Kick has been criticized since its launch for being a front for Stake, and co-founders Eddie Craven and Bijan Tehrani using streamers to market their casino. Eddie Craven revealed in 2026 that Kick had stopped incentivizing gambling content, as the platform’s watch hours were suffering due to it. Although there is substantial gambling content still being broadcast on Kick, the platform is also known for IRL streams and has also been giving Twitch strong competition in the Spanish market.
Why did Kick become so popular?
Kick’s initial launch saw many early streamers join, but the platform faced criticism due to its links with Stake. 2023 was a major growth period for Kick, and one of the largest contributors to Kick’s popularity is its 95-5 subscription revenue split. Twitch is known to take a substantially higher cut from creators, notably as much as 50% of subscription revenue. This became Kick’s selling point, and the platform markets itself as the livestreaming platform that wants creators to earn, expand, and grow.
Twitch has always been Kick’s major rival, but the platform has been criticized by some streamers for its alleged uneven suspensions, moderation, and revenue. This allows Kick to benefit and attract frustrated creators who want a new place to try. Kick eventually became home to streamers who wanted a higher revenue split, less restrictive moderation, and fewer chances of getting banned.
Starting in 2025, Kick even started to offer creators opportunities for multistreaming content. This type of streaming offered a lower revenue compared to livestreaming exclusively on Kick, but it was still a good boost and attracted many top Twitch creators to jump ship. Some of these include Zach “Asmongold” Hoyt and John “Tectone” Robertson. Both streamers are well-known on Twitch, but have expanded their content to Kick and revealed their substantially higher earnings.
Top streamers who helped Kick grow
Adin Ross. Image via Kick.
Several notable names joined and helped Kick grow, but some of the top casino streamers who joined the platform are credited as being major contributors to the growth. Adin Ross was one of the biggest creators to join Kick, and has since become an unofficial poster boy of the platform. He may have had a falling out with Eddie Craven in 2025 and stopped marketing Kick so enthusiastically, but he has attracted many creators to the platform. Adin Ross has also displayed how much he earns on his Kick streams, which has added to the platform’s popularity. The Kick streamer was at his peak on Twitch, but had no choice but to move when he was permanently banned. His unique broadcasting style helped Kick significantly, but also added to the platform’s controversial image.
xQc is another big name, known for his viral reaction content and background as a professional Overwatch player. While the Kick streamer couldn’t make it big in esports, he has made a brand around his reaction, gambling, and Just Chatting streams. He was another creator who Kick attracted from Twitch, but his deal was surprising. This wasn’t just because of the $100 million being a huge sum for a streamer deal, but also because Kick allowed him to continue streaming on Twitch. This displayed Kick’s intentions of growing at a fast rate, and the decision helped the platform, as xQc brought in substantial viewership. The high number of viewers isn’t surprising given that xQc was one of Twitch’s most-watched streamers at the time.
Tyler “Trainwreckstv” Niknam, who also reportedly has an ownership stake in Kick, was also an early joiner of the platform. He became particularly famous for his IRL and gaming content. The streamer also collaborated with top creators, including Adin Ross, Timothy “TimTheTatman” John Betar, and Hasan “Hasanabi” Piker. Trainwreckstv is known primarily for his gambling content, as his big win clips go viral. However, he was one of the creators who is no longer active on Twitch and gave Kick his all, helping grow the platform with regular long streams that draw in thousands of viewers.
Why Kick became controversial
Many creators avoid Kick, and also go as far as to not collaborate with the platform’s streamers. This is largely due to the controversial image that Kick has built over the years in its quest for domination. There are several reasons why the platform became controversial, with its less restricted content being one. Many critics have questioned Kick’s more lax moderation, even criticizing the platform for not taking action against streamers.
The platform also became home to several controversial creators who were banned on Twitch or wanted a revenue boost. Kick’s easy-going moderation allowed such creators to broadcast controversial content. While Kick has since started to take action against streamers for livestreaming controversial content, the platform’s reputation has already been set.
Kick’s association with Stake, and both platforms’ co-founders being the same, also contributed to the public’s perception. Creators loved the platform for its freedom, but the community criticized Kick for the same reason. Kick started to expand, and 2024 was a major year, as IRL content became more widespread on the platform.
The rise of new talent on Kick
Kick streamer Clavicular
As a rule, Kick is known for poaching streamers from Twitch and YouTube, rather than creating its own stars from scratch. However, some streamers who were less known on Twitch or YouTube have acquired virality from streaming on Kick. This includes Braden “Clavicular” Peters, who is known for his looksmaxxing content. The creator offers fitness advice on YouTube, but his Kick streams include IRL content. This has allowed Clavicular to build a larger fan base, and his clips typically go viral on social media.
Kick has also invested heavily in clipping to ensure that its creators get substantial exposure and can grow. There are still questions about whether the platform has helped smaller creators or only established streamers can grow on the platform; the answer to this isn’t straightforward, as growing requires the audience to resonate with a streamer’s content. It’s harder for a smaller creator to grow because of competition, but good content can clearly attract a stable viewership.
Kick switching towards profitability after three years of impressive growth
According to recent statistics, Kick has reached 100 million users over three years and is also reportedly getting 10 million viewers weekly. This is impressive, but it also may be why Kick is now moving towards a model that can make the platform profitable. For the past three years, Kick has concentrated on creators and viewers, and the platform has been running at a loss.
Kick has now introduced ads, which is something the platform was avoiding due to its affecting viewer experience. The platform has also stopped signing high-figure deals and isn’t encouraging gambling streams. This new strategy marks a different stage of the company’s maturation after rapid growth.
Our analysis: Can Kick overtake Twitch in the future?
Image credit: Twitch
Kick is already a serious competitor for Twitch, with the livestreaming already having captured the Spanish market. Game publisher and developer Riot Games has also announced a partnership with Kick, allowing the platform to broadcast official tournaments and Kick streamers to join Riot’s creator program. This highlights that while Kick was previously known mainly for gambling, the platform is expanding into other niches.
As of 2026, Twitch is more established than Kick, and many creators livestream on the Amazon-backed platform because of the bigger exposure. For instance, Kai Cenat’s Mafiathon 3 saw the streamer hit 1 million concurrent live viewers and also cross 100,000 subscribers. These are big numbers, and even with a lower revenue split compared to Kick, Twitch is the better option.
Kick will likely continue to give tough competition to Twitch in the future, but it’s unclear whether the platform can become number one. This isn’t for the lack of trying, as many viewers tune in just to watch an Adin Ross or a Clavicular Kick stream. However, the bigger question is whether Kick has peaked already — and this will be answered clearly in the next few years.
Feature image credit: Kick
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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