Tyler “Ninja” Blevins’ stint as a streaming free agent might be coming to an end in the near future.
On July 7, Ninja’s YouTube channel had a live stream scheduled to take place later in the day. The listing was later removed from the page, leaving many to believe that Ninja had unintentionally let slip a test run of a YouTube Gaming stream. This would likely mean that Ninja is set to take his services to YouTube Gaming.
Ninja most likely signed to youtube, he currently has a test stream scheduled, probably didn’t mean to make it public but this is a huge hint.. pic.twitter.com/e4bd6lhD8M
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) July 7, 2020
This news also follows a tease by Ninja’s wife, Jessica Blevins, who hinted that Ninja was set to return to action in the near future:
You’ve all been patient….this week will be fun.
— Jessica Blevins (@JessicaBlevins) July 7, 2020
Ninja was one of the many streamers affected by the sudden closure of Mixer. The Microsoft-owned streaming platform announced its plans to cease operations in June, with the site and apps being shuttered in order to set up a partnership with Facebook Gaming. With the announcement came the news that Ninja and fellow big-name streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek were set to pursue other opportunities.
Ninja and shroud left Twitch in 2019 after being signed to contracts with Mixer that were reportedly worth millions, with some estimates entering the tens of millions. The coup was designed to legitimize Mixer as a rival to Twitch and to bring the sizable audiences of both streamers over to the new platform. That plan didn’t pan out, as Mixer experienced minimal gains in audience following the signings while Twitch actually increased its market share in spite of losing both Ninja and shroud.
News of Mixer waving the white flag was devastating for many in the streaming community. In addition to many of the Mixer-based influencers that were left without a platform after its closure, Twitch’s power over big-name streamers tightened as a major competitor was removed from bidding on their services. This also left fewer alternative landing spots for streamers disciplined by Twitch.
Ninja and shroud likely came out of the deal just fine. Reports indicate that the two streamers were paid their contracts in full when Mixer closed.
With Mixer out of the equation, YouTube is the second-biggest option for streamers like Ninja and would be the most likely landing spot. An official announcement is likely coming in the near future.
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