Twitch
Twitch
Nickmercs, TimTheTatman react to Dr Disrespect sexting minor
Olivia Richman
Streamers close to Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm have reacted to him admitting he inappropriately interacted with a minor on Twitch. Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from Twitch in 2020, leaving fans wondering what happened ever since. While he initially claimed he didn’t know why it happened, inside sources recently alleged that Dr Disrespect had used Twitch Whispers to privately message a minor. At first, Doc denied these claims and his …
Twitch
Dr Disrespect announces indefinite break from streaming, here’s why
Fariha Bhatti
Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm has announced an indefinite break from streaming after being released from the Midnight Society, a game studio he helped co-founded in 2021. Dr Disrespect is currently facing serious allegations. A former Twitch employee, Cody Conners, accused an unnamed streamer of engaging in inappropriate communication with a minor and planning to meet her at Twitch con. While the post did not explicitly name Dr Disrespect, it is …
Twitch
Kai Cenat calls out anyone who calls Shadow of Erdtree too hard
Olivia Richman
Elden Ring: Shadow of Erdtree is the long-awaited DLC for the RPG and gamers are starting to feel it may be too difficult. To that, streamer Kai Cenat is calling on players to put on their “big boy pants” and “go fight.” Popular content creator Asmongold, who is known for his obsession with World of Warcraft, recently had gamers talking when he admitted that Shadow of Erdtree is “too hard …
Twitch
Asmongold quits Elden Ring DLC because it’s “too hard”
Olivia Richman
Twitch streamer Asmongold has decided to quit playing the long-awaited Elden Ring DLC because it’s too hard. Known for his World of Warcraft streams, hot takes, and dirty room, Asmongold has been getting some consistent viewership for playing the newly released Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of Erdtree. But he may not finish grinding the challenging DLC because it’s not fun. Asmongold said he’d maybe give the DLC one more day …
Twitch
Twitch vs. Kick: Is Kick dying?
Olivia Richman
Kick made big waves in the streaming scene when it was initially announced as an answer to Twitch’s strict policies. Many streamers saw it as a way to do what they want on stream without consequences as Twitch continued to be condemned for inconsistent punishments and possibly playing favorites. But is Kick living up to the expectations? Many streamers and content creators have continued to spread the narrative that Kick …
Twitch
Kick accused of offering lower contract over cancer diagnosis, Kyedae speaks out
Olivia Richman
The streaming community has been left in shock after Kick was exposed allegedly offering streamer Kyedae less money for a deal since she is battling cancer. Now, the Valorant streamer has spoken out about the rumor. Popular streamer Kyedae has been publicly fighting cancer since she was diagnosed in the early part of 2023. With support from her family and Valorant pro boyfriend Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, she has gone through …
Twitch
ImAllexx accused of abusing ex-girlfriend in shocking videos
Olivia Richman
YouTuber ImAllexx has been accused of physically and emotionally abusing his ex-girlfriend including leaked videos with shocking audios. Popular commentary YouTuber ImAllexx has been accused by his ex-girlfriend, known as Alice, of abuse. She shared a Google Doc with 82 pages of accusations along with videos and audio. In the shared files, Alice claims that ImAllexx got into physical altercations with her and destroyed her property. The text screenshots show …
Twitch
Who is xQc dating in 2024? Here’s all we know about AikoBliss
Fariha Bhatti
Kick’s most expensive streamer, Félix “xQc” Lengyel, has had a tumultuous love life, but it seems he has finally found the one. Who is xQc dating in 2024? xQc’s love life has been in the public eye since he started dating fellow Twitch streamer AdeptTheBest in early 2021. They broke up in September 2022, but the controversies didn’t stop. With Adept claiming that they were married by law and xQc …
“There’s no such thing”: NICKMERCS lashes out at trans community
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Call of Duty streamer Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff is doubling down on his transphobic comments despite an immense amount of backlash. NICKMERCS went viral a year ago for making transphobic comments that hinted LGBTQ+ communities were targeting and harming children. This statement had his bundle removed from Modern Warfare 2, which caused a massive uproar from his fans. Some even claimed they would boycott the game. Despite all of the controversy, …
What happened between Cody Ko and Tana Mongeau?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
A lot of Cody Ko fans were left disappointed in the last 12 hours after finding out that fellow YouTuber Tana Mongeau accused the content creator of sleeping with her while she was underage. Fans of the two YouTube stars speculated that something had happened between the two eight years ago when they appeared to be a bit flirty during collabs. Later on, Tana Mongeau admitted that they had indeed …
Kai Cenat stream with LeBron James, Kevin Hart breaks records
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Kai Cenat recently had a celebrity-studded livestream that featured the likes of Kevin Hart and LeBron James. It created a ton of viral moments, eventually even breaking some records. Kevin Hart returned to Kai Cenat’s livestream after a successful team up back in May. With viral moments featuring comedian Druski and Hart rapping “They’re Not Like Us,” it’s no surprise that the livestream broke an impressive viewership record. Kai Cenat’s …
MrBeast’s biggest video on YouTube will include Pokimane, Logan Paul, CarryMinati, and more
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
MrBeast is cooking up a video that will likely break the internet. Taking to X, the most-subscribed YouTuber posted a star-studded photo featuring some of the content creators across the globe. MrBeast is known for his larger-than-life content. Whether it’s putting two strangers in a room for three months or creating a real-life squid game, MrBeast has done it all. Now, he’s gathering the top creators around the globe for …
Popular male streamer harasses Pokimane over suggestive photos
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Content creator Imane “Pokimane” Anys has accused a popular male streamer of making nasty sexist comments to her over a revealing photo. On the June 4 episode of her podcast, Don’t Tell Anyone, Pokimane opened up about the time a top male streamer DMd her to “berate” her after she shared some sexy photos on X. The post in question was from July 2022. Pokimane posted three photos of her …
Ludwig Fast 50 raises over $250K after controversy
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Esports YouTuber Ludwig Ahgren recently announced a speed-running charity event called Ludwig Fast 50. It just wrapped up and raised over $250,000. Ludwig organized a speed running event called Fast 50 that lasted for 52 hours from May 31 to June 2. The marathon featured popular content creators and speed runners attempting to break speed run records in a variety of retro and new games. By the end of the …
Where does popular creator BruceDropEmOff stream in 2024?
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
Popular variety streamer BruceDropEmOff, known for his gaming stream and upbeat personality, has been streaming on Kick for some time now. But where does BruceDropEmOff stream in 2024? BruceDropEmOff’s streaming journey began with NBA 2K and expanded to include popular games like Fortnite, GTA 5, and more. However, it’s his IRL and Just Chatting content that has truly resonated, allowing him to build a community of 329,000 on Kick and …
Pokimane reveals creepy reason her ex-editor missed deadlines
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
Twitch streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys has had a fair share of creepy fan encounters, but fans are shocked at why her ex-editor missed some deadlines. Pokimane has previously shared stories of weird and borderline creepy interactions with fans. Whether it’s someone discovering her home address or stalking her, the streamer has seen it all. However, her recent revelation has fans’ jaws on the floor. In a recent Twitch stream, Pokimane …
MrBeast announces his own YouTube data site Viewstats
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Streamer extraordinaire James “MrBeast” Donaldson has launched a new project that will help YouTubers better understand their behind-the-scene stats. After dabbling in reality shows and the food industry, MrBeast is now looking at online data. The YouTube giant is now planning to share his experience and data with the fans and aspiring YouTubers. MrBeast announced yesterday on X that he will be launching a website called Viewstats. The purpose of …
The need for responsible gambling streams following xQc controversy
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
xQc, known for his engaging content and massive following, faced criticism after admitting to substantial gambling losses and subsequently quitting gambling streams. This incident highlighted a broader issue: the influence of gambling content on viewers and the potential for others to copy these influential users’ gambling habits. The recent controversy surrounding Félix “xQc” Lengyel, a popular Twitch streamer, has shed light on the need for more responsible gambling practices within …
Drama between Adept and xQc continues in a newly leaked call
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
Just when you thought the drama between Félix “xQc” Lengyel and Adept was over, a new leaked call has surfaced between the two, in which she is heard questioning xQc’s relationship with another female streamer. xQc and Adept share a lot of history. From a broken relationship to court cases, the two have gone back and forth for years until March 2024 when xQc claimed that the cases were over for good. However, …
Elden Ring is once again top Twitch game after Kai Cenat beats it
William Davis
Twitch
Elden Ring is back to being the most trending game on Twitch, thanks to Kai Cenat streaming it for a week straight. On May 10, Twitch’s most popular streamer, Kai Cenat, took on the challenge of beating Elden Ring on livestream. He pledged to keep his stream up until he finished the game and beat all the bosses. Since he doesn’t have a ton of experience in ARPG games, fans …
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.
