Twitch
Twitch
Asmongold criticizes Pokimane’s reason for leaving Twitch
Olivia Richman
Imane “Pokimane” Anys surprised fans by announcing a sudden platform switch in January. Once learning her reason for leaving Twitch, Asmongold had a lot to say about the situation. Asmongold is no stranger to sharing his opinions on the streaming community and its top players. When Pokimane left Twitch after 10 years, he shared his opinion on the decision. Pokimane initially kept a bit quiet about her decision to leave …
Twitch
5 Gambling Streamers To Watch In 2024
William Davis
The online gambling world is always thrilling, and who better to guide you through its twists and turns than charismatic streamers (especially if you want to experience it without spending your own money). In 2024, a new wave of talent is poised to dominate the scene, each with their own unique blend of skill, entertainment, and personality, while some previously popular faces will continue to entertain viewers with their high-stakes …
Twitch
HasanAbi called out for downplaying net worth and income
Olivia Richman
The streaming community has raised an eyebrow at political content creator Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker after the streamer claimed he makes the same amount of money as a doctor. Streaming has become a very lucrative career, especially for some of the biggest names in the industry. HasanAbi gets an average of more than 19,000 viewers per stream and has over 20,000 active subscribers. Known for his controversial opinions, his Just Chatting …
Twitch
Pokimane says she’s done with “Twitch’s messy behavior,” what’s next?
Olivia Richman
Fans were left worrying about Imane “Pokimane” Anys after she hinted that she may be done streaming on Twitch. Now, the famous influencer has shared what she plans to do going forward. On January 30, Pokimane shared a cryptic tweet that stated it was the “end of an era.” Fans reacted with shock, speculating that she was done streaming on Twitch and may have other plans for her career. She …
Twitch
What Types of Games Are and Aren’t Allowed on Twitch in 2024?
William Davis
Twitch offers lots of services to its users, but it is most well known for live-streaming video games, from eSports to real-time strategy. As of October 2023, Twitch has nearly 7 million active streamers, which is hugely impressive considering the competition in the field – and this doesn’t even cover the number of viewers. Because of the size of the usership, the type of games that are streamed on Twitch …
Twitch
What’s up with the dangerous trend of on-stream driving on Twitch?
William Davis
Twitch is the home of many internet trends that spread around the globe. Most of these trends remain entertaining and pose huge meme potential while others tend to become the topic of controversial discussions. The latest of these controversial phenomena is the increasing number of creators going live on Twitch while being behind the wheel. Just recently, Twitch streamer Knut found himself at the center of a safety discussion and …
Twitch
“I’d rather watch paint dry”: Like a Dragon fans react to xQc stream
Olivia Richman
Fans of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are salty that Felix “xQc” Lengyel collaborated on the game’s campaign. Gamers have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the sequel by developers RGG Studio. The series has been pretty popular around the world thanks to its immersive storylines and captivating characters, but fans are still annoyed with the studio after seeing that xQc was part of the …
Twitch
“You’re dumb”: Kai Cenat calls out haters who say his content is for kids
Olivia Richman
Kai Cenat has claimed that his streams are for adults, not children — and the streaming community is skeptical. Twitch streamer Kai Cenat has become one of the top streamers on Twitch and beyond after breaking subscriber records in 2023. However, Cenat has been the subject of a ton of controversies, including having banned creators on his livestreams and allegedly performing sexual acts during broadcasts. These stunts have especially bothered …
Is Jacksepticeye retiring from YouTube?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
YouTuber Sean “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin has continued to be one of the top creators on the platform with 30 million subscribers. But is Jacksepticeye thinking of retiring from YouTube? Some fans are worried. Recently, Matthew “MatPat” Patrick announced that he was retiring from YouTube after over 13 years. Despite his massive success and multiple channels on games, style, food, and film, MatPat admitted in a tearful video that he missed a …
How much has Amouranth made from OnlyFans?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa has long been the queen of streaming and OnlyFans. We knew she made millions a month, but how much has she made from OnlyFans so far? She recently shared the shocking number. In the last four years, Amouranth has reportedly made $57 million off of OnlyFans. https://twitter.com/Amouranth/status/1744763888808108540?s=20 A closeup of the breakdown shows where most of the income comes from within OnlyFans. Almost half of the $57 …
shroud is the most-watched The Finals streamer on Twitch
Olivia Richman
Twitch
The Finals is a hit shooter game thanks to its colorful vibe, intense team fights, and chaotic, destructive maps. It’s been fun to play but also fun to watch, especially since many top streamers have decided to grind the game. But who is the top streamer? The Finals went live on December 7, a surprise at the end of The Game Awards 2023. Since then, Michael “shroud” Grzesiek has been …
Where will LeBron James stream?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
NBA star LeBron James is thinking of streaming Madden, but where will he broadcast his content? The top streaming platforms are hoping it will be them. LeBron James is considered one of the best basketball players of all time and has a ton of fans across the world. On Twitter, LeBron said that he’s been thinking of live streaming while playing Madden but questioned which streaming platform he should pick …
Influencer Mama Boy arrested, facing rape charges
Olivia Richman
Twitch
A Korean YouTuber, Seo Won Joeng, was arrested on sexual assault charges and fans have been left devastated. Seo Won Joeng, who is known online as ox_zung or Mama Boy, has been arrested after it was reported that he and another man sexually assaulted an intoxicated woman. The incident took place in July, according to Korean reports, which explains why he hasn’t been online since July 22. Mama Boy has …
Boogie2988 banned from Twitch for black bar stream gone wrong
Olivia Richman
Twitch
The topless meta has been pushing Twitch’s guidelines so one streamer decided to test it to the extreme. And it didn’t go well. YouTuber Steven “Boogie2988” Williams has been banned from Twitch after showing a bit too much on a recent stream. In fact, he got completely naked. At first, Boogie had a censor bar covering his body but then he suddenly removed his pants and the bar while chanting …
Twitch reverts “artistic nudity” rule, but topless meta still prevails
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch
For primarily a gaming-centered streaming platform, Twitch runs into sexual content predicaments a bit too much. After rolling back its artistic nudity policy, the platform is now in a tough spot as artists feel left out, and OnlyFans models push the boundaries. Since Twitch has reverted its policy that allowed artists to stream the artistic procedure behind nude figures, content creators are finding new ways to “express their sexuality” or …
Scump resolves issues with Activision after CDL stream
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Call of Duty streamer Seth “Scump” Abner and Activision’s conflict has been resolved. On December 16, Scump announced that his YouTube and Twitch stream of the Call of Duty League was taken down by Activision. The reason was allegedly for copyright issues, with Activision citing the DMCA. “No more Twitch streams, ladies and gentlemen. I do want to say that yesterday we got taken down. Talked with CDL last night, …
MrBeast faces lawsuit for Deez Nuts chocolate bar
Olivia Richman
Twitch
YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson found himself in a lawsuit over his Deez Nuts peanut butter chocolate bars. MrBeast is currently the most-subscribed-to YouTuber thanks to his extreme videos and philanthropic efforts. He has since pursued other business ventures as well, including fast food burgers and chocolate. The burger business didn’t go too well, with many complaining about the quality upon arrival. Now, his chocolate bar company has come under fire …
Dr Disrespect reacts to E3 shut down
Olivia Richman
Twitch
It’s official: E3 will not be returning. While this is unfortunate news for some in the gaming industry, Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm felt no sympathy for the event. Dr Disrespect is no stranger to controversy. It shook the entire internet when he was mysteriously banned permanently from Twitch and there’s still no public reason despite some lawsuits between the Two-Time and the streaming platform. But this overshadowed some other drama …
xQc claims legal drama with Adept is done
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch star Felix “xQc” Lengyel told fans that the legal drama with ex-Samantha “Adept” Lopez is basically over. For the past few years, xQc and Adept have been dealing with a messy “divorce” of sorts, with Adept apparently trying to get money from the famous streamer and cheating accusations. It’s all been very toxic and dramatic, but it looks like the drama may be coming to an end. While streaming …
Korean streamers concerned with Twitch shutdown
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch will not be in South Korea in 2024. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy recently announced that the streaming platform will no longer be operating in Korea starting on February 27, 2024, due to high costs. This decision was made after the company spent “several years” figuring out how to make it more financially viable. Apparently, the network fees in Korea are “10 times higher” than they are in many other …
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.
