Twitch
Twitch
iShowSpeed 1v1s Eberechi Eze on EA Sports FC — Here Are the Highlights
Khizar Mundia
IRL YouTuber Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. has become known for his entertaining games of EA Sports FC, pitting himself against professional footballers, and this time it was the turn of Arsenal and England forward Eberechi Eze to compete on a stream. Speed’s love for FIFA and football is known by everyone, and the YouTuber may only love one thing more than playing the game: watching Cristiano Ronaldo play. The IRL …
Twitch
After a Self-Nomination, Could iShowSpeed Be a Surprise Grammy Winner?
Khizar Mundia
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. has nominated himself in several Grammy categories, and fans are speculating whether the wildcard entrant has a chance of winning against more established artists. 2026 is a major year for iShowSpeed, as the YouTuber ended 2025 with his Africa IRL tour ongoing, then toured the Caribbean, and ultimately did FIFA World Cup livestreams. He partnered with FIFA, YouTube, and Fox, and performed at the World Cup. …
Twitch
Kai Cenat Reveals Japan IRL Tour and Says He Wants To Go to Space
Khizar Mundia
Twitch star Kai Cenat has recently expanded his content to include IRL tours, and Japan is next on the list of places he will be heading it seems. The American kicked off his Exploring the Unexplored IRL series with Iceland, reportedly becoming the first streamer to broadcast from inside a volcano. This was a massive accomplishment, but just a few days later Cenat became embroiled in controversy with Reginald “Reggie” Travers. …
GTA
Lacy Reveals GTA 6 Marathon Plans and Monthly Income Breakdown
Khizar Mundia
Nick “Lacy” Fosco recently made headlines after announcing he would disable Twitch ads on his streams. Now, the streamer has revealed plans for an upcoming GTA 6 marathon, alongside a breakdown of his monthly earnings and expenses.. Lacy is in the news frequently, whether it’s because of his relationship, drama with other streamers, or even leaving CORE. The creator recently also limited his Twitch ads significantly after starting, saying that …
Twitch
Marlon Becomes One of the First Streamers To Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Khizar Mundia
When Marlon “Mar3lg” Lundgren Garcia announced that he would climb Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, many doubted whether he would be able to complete the feat — but the streamer has fulfilled his commitment. Twitch streamer Marlon isn’t new to IRL streams; indeed, he completed a Europe tour before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, the streamer’s announcement about wanting to climb Africa’s tallest mountain was met with surprise, as …
Twitch
Kai Cenat Announces He’ll Sue Reggie — Is This the End of Clover Boys?
Khizar Mundia
Popular content group Clover Boys, which is associated with Kai Cenat, may be heading for a breakup after members started leaving following drama between Cenat and Reggie. Reginald “Reggie” Travers made several very public accusations against Kai Cenat and other members of Clover Boys on September 26. Cenat initially stayed away from the drama, but other creators soon began reacting to the controversy online. Reggie then made further serious allegations …
Twitch
Lacy Turns Off Twitch Ads — Here’s What the Streamer Has To Say
Khizar Mundia
Nick “Lacy” Fosco announced in a recent Twitch stream that he wants his viewers to enjoy his content and is turning off ads from all his future broadcasts. Lacy was last in the limelight when he announced that he was leaving CORE, the streamer organization that was primarily comprising the ex-FaZe boys. He then hosted a gaming marathon with Marlon “Mar3lg” Lundgren Garcia in September, and now Lacy is going …
Twitch
Dan Clancy Reveals Twitch Uses AI To Link Streamers With Brands
Khizar Mundia
Ad revenue is a major contributor to a streamer’s overall earnings, and Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has explained how the platform is using AI to match brands to creators. Advertising is a major part of Twitch’s business, but the platform also needs to ensure creators meet brands’ suitability criteria. Clancy discussed how Twitch uses AI to identify suitable creators and flag those who don’t match a brand’s requirements during a …
Will Kai Cenat Grow His Twitch Subscribers in the Remainder of 2026?
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Twitch streamer Kai Cenat is one of the most popular personalities on the platform, with his number of followers climbing with every new event that he announces. However, his subscriber numbers have been less straightforward. The American went on an unexpected break after shattering Twitch subscriber records with his Mafiathon 3, but eventually returned with Streamer University 2026. The creator did become the most-subscribed Twitch streamer after his return, but …
iShowSpeed Answers Fan Questions: Opens Up About Mental Health and One Piece
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. recently did an extensive Q&A where he answered several fan questions, talking about things such as mental health and loneliness despite being massively popular, while he also debunked being a One Piece “larper”. iShowSpeed is arguably the biggest IRL streamer in the world right now, with 2026 being a major year for the creator. Whether it was livestreaming the 2026 FIFA World Cup or being listed …
Kai Cenat Reportedly Becomes First Streamer To Broadcast From Inside a Volcano
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Twitch star Kai Cenat caused a major stir online when he announced his Exploring the Unexplored IRL series — and he has now gone live from the first country, Iceland, streaming from inside a volcano. IRL streaming is one of the best ways to gain exposure and become a bigger creator. Two of the biggest current examples are Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. and Rangesh “N3on” Mutama. Speed has been a …
iShowSpeed and Usain Bolt Reportedly Filming Speed Goes Pro Season 2
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
A clip is going viral on social media, seemingly showing Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. and the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, at a high school track. iShowSpeed is no newcomer when it comes to big-name collaborations, especially when it involves showing off his speed. He raced Olympic champion Noah Lyles in 2024, and while Speed lost, it was a historic collab, as Speed faced off against a 100-meter champion. The …
GTA 6 Online’s Release Date Is Clearer After Twitch CEO Comments
Zachary Roberts
GTA
Will GTA 6 eventually get an extensive online mode like GTA 5 before it? That’s the question that has persisted since the game was first announced without it. It’s always likely been a yes, but then when? Well, according to Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, next year. The executive has revealed direct talks with Rockstar, and Kalshi prediction market chances have responded accordingly. It doesn’t need to be said that GTA 6 …
Dream Streamer Collabs That Should Definitely Happen
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Streamers collaborating with each other offers a completely different dynamic to solo ones, whether that is in the form of IRL tours or marathons. It is common for duos to repeat their collaborations multiple times, as we have seen with Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. and Kai Cenat’s recent gaming marathon, but it is rare to see those with completely different audiences join forces. That is why I started thinking of …
Who Is Clavicular? A Look Into the Looksmaxxing Streamer’s Life
Khizar Mundia
Kick
Braden “Clavicular” Peters is perhaps best known for looksmaxxing, and the streamer is regularly in the limelight for various reasons. Here’s everything about Clavicular, from his early life to his rise on Kick, and everything in between. Looksmaxxing creator Clavicular is one of the most viral faces among Kick creators, with him frequently being in the news for his controversies or other actions. Clav is also reportedly one of the …
KSI Hints at Falling Out With at Least “Some” Sidemen
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Olajide “KSI” Olayinka Williams Olatunji was arguably the largest name attached to Sidemen, and now that he’s left the collective, it appears some of the members are no longer his friends. KSI’s exit from Sidemen was the end of an era. He and the boys were renowned for fun whilst creating good memories and building a massive following. When KSI left in May 2026, he’d stated that he was on …
Kai Cenat and BruceDropEmOff Beef Explained As the Two Finally Patch Things Up
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
A multi-year streamer beef has ended, with Kai Cenat and Bruce “BruceDropEmOff” Ray Condones repairing their friendship after a rift began in 2023. BruceDropEmOff and Kai Cenat’s friendship was very public, as the two collaborated with each other and were otherwise known to be very close friends. This is why their public falling out took many fans by surprise. Bruce and Kai’s friendship deteriorated around the time when the former …
Kai Cenat Finishes Wolverine Marathon, Backs iShowSpeed, and Teases IRL Series
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Twitch creator Kai Cenat’s recent momentum is showing no signs of slowing down. He has just completed a Marvel’s Wolverine marathon, whilst also expressing support for his friend Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. being crowned Streamer of the Year 2026. After a quiet start to the year, Cenat recently returned from his months-long break, and the streamer has been prolific in his output ever since. He first hosted Streamer University 2026, then …
FaZe Banks Thinks N3on’s AI Clone Could Be Worth $100M — How AI Is Changing Streaming
Khizar Mundia
Kick
Rangesh “N3on” Mutama may have received widespread backlash following his decision to use an AI model for certain content, but FaZe boss Richard “Banks” Bengtson has compared the streamer to legendary TikToker Khaby Lame. N3on was recently in the limelight after viewers noticed that a GTA 6 streamer NPC resembles him. The Kick streamer wasted no time in recreating the GTA 6 Netflix Extended Look in an IRL livestream, and …
Twitch Is Testing An AI Stream Coach — Here’s How It Works
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Amazon-backed livestreaming platform Twitch is testing a new feature that will act as an AI coach for streamers, giving them personalized feedback to improve. Twitch has been playing around with several experimental features to improve things for its users. One of these includes auto clips, which was a feature that would automatically generate clips from the best moments of a stream. Another is AI-generated summaries of what happened in a …
Twitch is the largest of all the major livestreaming platforms in and around the gaming world, but it wasn’t always that way. Th platform’s history dates back over many years and to a form of the service that had little to do with gaming. So how did it arrive to the top of the gaming marketplace from those humble beginnings?
Twitch transcends justin.tv, is acquired by Amazon
Twitch was originally born out of justin.tv, an early livestreaming website that focus more on general lifestyle streaming than on any one particular niche, gaming included. justin.tv, named after co-founder Justin Kan, was launched in 2007 and went on to feature multiple categories of streaming options. Among these was gaming, a category which quickly outpaced the growth of platform’s other categories.
Responding to this growth, justin.tv spun out its gaming section in 2011 into a new service called Twitch.tv, and that is the true starting point of Twitch as it exists today.
It would still be some time before Twitch would resemble its modern-day operation. The biggest move towards that progression came in 2014, when the streaming platform was purchased for just shy of $1 billion in cash by services and technology giant Amazon. That move transitioned the company being a private operation largely funded by private investment and internal revenues to one of many arms of one of the world’s largest and richest companies.
Twitch dominates gaming livestreaming
The growth of Twitch largely coincided with the growth of livestreaming the world over, and gaming was a key driver of that growth as audiences flocked in droves to watch charismatic personalities play through their favorite games both new and old. Some of those personalities would become so popular that they would rival mainstream celebrities in notoriety with younger audiences, from Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to Imane “Pokimane” Anys.
Some of those personalities would be poached by rival streaming platforms that cropped up in response to the runaway popularity of Twitch. Microsoft’s Mixer and YouTube’s YouTube Gaming both signed streamers with massive audiences to exclusive streaming deals via big-money contracts. But Twitch proved resilient; no matter how popular the streamers were when they were signed away, someone else seemed prime to fill their spot. Twitch had become more than just a vehicle through which popular personalities could stream. It was itself a destination for its audience.
Twitch does still continue to compete with rival platforms. Kick is perhaps its biggest competition today, offering generous
subscription revenue splits
in an effort to sway streamers away from Twitch. But Amazon’s platform remains the most popular.
Twitch finds controversy over moderation, censorship
Given the nature of the Twitch platform, one that is entirely reliant on user-generated content, it should come as no surprise that moderation and censorship have long been hot topics of conversation. Consistency, or lack thereof, is often cited as Twitch’s biggest issue as its moderation team struggles to pass judgments across a litany of streamers producing a great variety of content.
Those content types have only grown over time. While Twitch found massive popularity by moving away from the greater variety of justin.tv and focusing specifically on gaming, the platform has ironically pushed back into other categories in more recent years, attempting to find additional growth by emphasizing the streaming of art, music, and its popular “just chatting” content that sees streamers talking directly to their audience without any particular activity driving their engagement.
But while Twitch is now a lightning rod for controversy and discussion given its great size and breadth, that controversy has shown no real risk to lessening its grip on the livestreaming industry. Twitch has become the dominant name in its category, and with its biggest streamers continuing to
set new records, all signs point to that dominance continuing for the foreseeable future.
