Twitch
Twitch
iShowSpeed says he plans US tour during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Khizar Mundia
Popular IRL streamer Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. revealed during his ongoing Caribbean Tour that he is planning a US tour for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer. iShowSpeed is riding high on his Caribbean IRL Tour, where he’s done everything, ranging from livestreaming underwater to pledging revenue towards Dominica for flood relief. There were also claims that the streamer had been given Guadeloupean citizenship, which proved to be …
Twitch
Who is Masterchef’s Twitch streamer iGumdrop?
Hannan Mundia
The Twitch streamer iGumdrop put herself on the global stage by becoming a contestant on MasterChef Season 16, leading to an all-time level of popularity and name recognition online — but who exactly is she? Behind the cooking skills and culinary prowess is a personality who has built up a loyal following for her gaming content. Despite having 325k followers on Twitch, her big break has come in MasterChef Season …
Kick
Who is xQc, and how did he get so big?
Khizar Mundia
Félix “xQc” Lengyel is one of the most prominent gaming streamers, who is widely recognized by his viral reaction clips — but who exactly is he, and what are the reasons behind his rapid growth in recent years? xQc is a massively popular streamer who is active on Kick, and offers his opinions about everything, which he isn’t shy about sharing. These opinions and real takes make him relatable, which …
Counter-Strike
This is everything to know about the AT&T Annihilator Cup 2026
Khizar Mundia
The sixth edition of the AT&T Annihilator Cup is almost here, with dates, matchups and teams all now officially confirmed. The AT&T Annihilator Cup 2026 is a multi-week esports tournament where teams made up of content creators will battle each other across multiple games. Each round will be held once a week, with a different title being played each time. Team performances will determine the points, and each game will …
Twitch
iShowSpeed streams across multiple countries, says space is the endgame
Khizar Mundia
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. has set a new record by streaming in four countries in a single stream, and announced the goal of livestreaming in space once he’s visited the remaining countries. iShowSpeed’s Caribbean Tour is going viral for various reasons, including the streamer dropping a reported $5,000 phone into the ocean while jet skiing and livestreaming Grenada’s underwater museum. Now, the streamer is going viral for setting a new …
Twitch
iShowSpeed pledges Dominica stream revenue towards flood relief
Khizar Mundia
Popular IRL streamer Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. is currently livestreaming in Dominica and has promised that all the revenue from the broadcast will be donated to the recent flood victims. iShowSpeed is arguably the most well-known IRL streamer, with the American — real name Darren Jason Watkins Jr. — renowned for visiting different countries and interacting with the citizens in wholesome ways. The streamer is currently touring the Caribbean and …
Kick
Nick White shows how much smaller Kick creators can make
Khizar Mundia
Kick streamer Nick White is a relatively smaller creator, but he highlighted in a recent stream how well the platform pays him. Nick White is a creator that first came to prominence in 2024, gaining a reputation for entertaining JustChatting and reaction streams. He also faced a Kick ban for livestreaming how easy it is to code viewbots. The streamer has been creating regular content on Kick since his return, …
Twitch
Ninja makes Arc Raiders comeback, returns to break within 3 hours
Khizar Mundia
Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins recently announced an indefinite break from streaming, citing persistent hacker issues in Arc Raiders. He briefly returned following a new update to the game, but has now stepped away again after encountering the same problems. Twitch streamer Ninja is a well-known creator who came into the limelight with the battle royale Fortnite. He soon became one of the most promising Twitch creators and consistently switched between games, …
iShowSpeed claims to be the first to livestream underwater
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. is currently on his Caribbean Tour, and the popular IRL YouTuber did an underwater livestream, which he claims made history by being the first. iShowSpeed only announced his Caribbean Tour recently, and the IRL stream has already begun. One of the first things the streamer did was hand out free meals to 150 people at Chefette in Barbados, and visited a location that was apparently Rihanna’s …
How X is seemingly reshaping monetization to focus on livestreaming
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
X Head of Product, Nikita Bier, has recently been pushing creators to multistream, and new reports suggest the platform will rework monetization for original livestream content. The recent drama in the streaming space surprisingly involved IRL YouTuber Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkin Jr. and Nikita Bier. iShowSpeed requested X not to remove its community, but this led to Bier apparently talking down to the streamer, and it became a whole controversy. Nikita …
Jynxzi gets LoL ban, Riot steps in and gives him free creator account
Khizar Mundia
League of Legends
In a surprising turn of events, massively popular streamer Nicholas ”Jynxzi” Stewart faced a League of Legends ban, but Riot Games responded by giving him a creator account. Here’s why Jynxzi was banned in the first place and why Riot decided to show leniency and give him a free account. Jynxzi started his content creation journey in 2019, with a handful of viewers. The streamer consistently created unique content, slowly …
Polish streamer Łatwogang breaks MrBeast’s record with charity livestream
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Patryk “Łatwogang” Garkowski recently broadcast a nine-day stream that peaked at approximately 1.5 million viewers, and set the record for the largest charity livestream ever. Łatwogang is a popular Polish streamer known for his viral challenges and collaborations with celebrities, which have earned him a loyal following. The streamer typically produces content that engages his fans while also having the chance of going viral. He primarily uses YouTube for his …
Nikita Bier pushes creators to use X streaming after facing backlash
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, was in the news recently because of the hate he received for apparently talking down Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr., and he is now in the limelight again for trying to convince streamers to multistream on X. Social platform X recently announced that it was shutting down its community feature. iShowSpeed was one of the first to react, stating that X community is how he …
Why has there been a sudden rise of clippers in streaming?
Khizar Mundia
Kick
Clipping has always been a big part of streaming, but there has been an influx of dedicated clippers recently, and there is a reason that creators are paying them. It’s clearly normal for viewers and fans to clip memorable parts of broadcasts they watch. Even major livestreaming platforms encourage viewers to share clips on social media, which is why there are built-in clipping options during livestreams. What’s changed recently is …
iShowSpeed and Logan Paul’s WrestleMania feud expands into anime
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Massively popular YouTuber Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. and influencer Logan Paul teamed up for WrestleMania 42, but the duo clashed. iShowSpeed has now reignited that drama by calling Logan Paul out over anime. iShowSpeed initially started his career full of controversies, and the streamer faced multiple bans from streaming platforms. He eventually got his act together around the time when he started appearing in mainstream media and started doing his …
X’s Nikita Bier faces iShowSpeed fan backlash over apparent slight
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. reacted to X’s decision to remove the community feature, with viewers criticising Head of Product Nikita Bier over a response they saw as disrespectful towards the popular streamer. iShowSpeed is known for his wholesome personality and for typically staying away from drama and controversies, which helped him become the most-subscribed streamer in the world in 2025. It appears drama found the streamer recently, however, when he …
ExtraEmily announces break from streaming — here’s why
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Popular streamer Emily “ExtraEmily” Zhang has announced that she is taking a break from streaming following viewbotting allegations. ExtraEmily began content creation with IRL, JustChatting, and gaming streams, quickly gaining attention and she was also associated with the content organization One True King for some time. While she eventually left the organization, ExtraEmily continued solo content creation and has maintained a consistent viewer base that regularly watches her streams. ExtraEmily …
Ludwig announces CS Minor tournament — here are the full details
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Ludwig Ahgren is back with another event, and this time, he is hosting the CS Minor tournament, where fans will see some familiar esports personalities and other creators. The American streamer, caster, and host is famous for the events and other collaborative gatherings he holds. Ludwig’s last event that went viral for all the wrong reasons was Mogul Moves, where Super Smash Bros. Melee player Joseph “Mang0” Marquez had too …
Here’s what we know about iShowSpeed’s Caribbean Tour
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
Popular IRL YouTuber Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. is on the move again, and this time it’s a tour of the Caribbean. iShowSpeed is massively popular because of contagiously high-energy broadcasts, which helped him become the most-subscribed streamer in the world in 2025. He focuses heavily on IRL streamers, but unlike many IRL streamers, iShowSpeed travels the world. This helps him engage with different cultures and showcases everything to his viewers. …
How much money did the Sidemen raise in the 2026 charity match, and did iShowSpeed play?
Khizar Mundia
Twitch
The Sidemen had a successful 2026 Charity Match and raised significant money, but many fans were more worried about whether Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins would make an appearance on the pitch. The Sidemen is one of the most popular content creation organizations, and it holds an annual Charity Match that many creators participate in. All proceeds are given to charity organizations, and fans pour their support yearly. This year, fans were …
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.
