Emmett Shear steps down as Twitch CEO

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has announced that he’s stepping down from the streaming platform.

Shear started working with Twitch back in 2006, even before it was known as Justin.tv. Despite his dedication to Twitch over the past 16 years, Shear announced o

n Twitter that he wants to focus on his family after the birth of his first child. Meanwhile, he’ll be taking an advisory role.

Shear will be replaced by Dan Clancy, the current president of the company. This is effective immediately.

“He cares deeply about the Twitch community, its streamers, and our staff and understands what makes Twitch, Twitch,” Shear reassured the streaming community.

In October 2006 we started working on live video for the internet. That became Twitch. More than 16 years later, I'm now a father and ready to move to my next phase of life. I wrote a blog post, but the short version is: thank you so much to everyone who built this with me.

— Emmett Shear (@eshear) March 16, 2023

Emmett Shear discusses time at Twitch

In a long message on Twitter, Shear thanked everyone for their continued support, trust, and “critical thoughts” about the streaming platform.

Shear has been the CEO of Twitch since 2011, holding the position for more than 11 years. During that time, Twitch has become the biggest streaming platform in the world, largely due to Amazon purchasing it for $970 million. The site has been a success when it comes to viewership, but has also been a huge source of controversy. Streamers have been arguing about Twitch’s inconsistent punishments for years, and more recently, have been outspoken about the platform’s 50/50 revenue split.

Despite the controversy, Shear stated that he loves the people he has worked with throughout the years and creating opportunities for streamers to make a career out of “doing what they love.” Twitch has been a place for people to come together and connect, he added.

“Twitch often feels to me like a child I’ve been raising as well,” he reflected. “And while I will always want to be there if Twitch needs me, at 16 years old, it feels to me Twitch is ready to move out of the house and venture alone.”

Right now, it’s unclear how Clancy will change Twitch, if he does at all. He’s already been playing a big part in the company alongside Shear.

If things don’t change, however, there are some competitors waiting in the wings. Kick has been anxiously awaiting Twitch’s demise, promising content creators to give them more freedom in their content, including gambling.