Twitch
Twitch
Adin Ross gets banned on Twitch after being swatted live
Fariha Bhatti
Twitch streamer Adin Ross was briefly banned from the platform after being swatted during a live stream. Amazon-owned platform Twitch has tightened the rules against trolls, but swatting remains a thing in 2022. There’s no easy way to stop the viewers from hoax-calling the emergency services, which is why swatting is incredibly common on Twitch. Adin Ross is the recent target of the trolls, but that’s not all that happened. …
Twitch
Ludwig announces Chessboxing event after Smash Invitational fail
William Davis
Streamer Ludwig Ahgren has announced his next event, and it’s not what people might expect. On December 11, 2022, Ludwig will be hosting the Mogul Chessboxing Championship at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. In a time when every content creator wants to be a boxer, Ludwig is putting his twist on it with a massive Chessboxing event. It will be hosted at the Galen Center, a venue with …
Twitch
Pokimane shares her recent experience getting blackmailed
Olivia Richman
Imane “Pokimane” Anys recently opened up about almost getting blackmailed, leaving her feeling stunned. On November 9, Pokimane tweeted that she was “almost blackmailed” and felt the need to share her story on TikTok so smaller creators could heed her warning and learn from her experience. “Be careful what you share online,” Pokimane added. https://twitter.com/pokimanelol/status/1590425124083490816?s=20&t=C3TpeBCfPCQs791SUjT_0Q Over on TikTok, the PSA already has over 155 thousand views. In the video, Pokimane …
Twitch
indiefoxx reveals reason behind her permanent ban from Twitch
Olivia Richman
Content creator Jenelle “indiefoxx” Dagres was constantly in the news and on r/LiveStreamFails for receiving ban after ban from Twitch. Not many were shocked when she was permanently banned from Twitch, but it wasn’t exactly clear what led to the permaban. Until now. indiefoxx was becoming pretty popular on Twitch thanks to the rise of hot tub streaming and Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa paving the way for other controversial trends like …
News
Misfits Gaming announces $20 million fund amid QTCinderella signing
William Davis
Misfits Gaming is making waves. Ahead of the signing of streamer QTCinderella, the organization announced a $20 million Creator Fund. Mostly known for its former League of Legends team competing in the LEC and Overwatch’s League Florida Mayhem, Misfits is a South Florida-based organization. Back in June, Misfits sold its LEC slot to Team Heretics, marking the end of its presence in the European competitive scene. Now, the organization seems …
Twitch
QTCinderella joins Misfits, accuses TSM of not supporting her
Olivia Richman
Dynamic content creator QTCinderella has signed with Misfits Gaming Group just days after leaving TSM. QTCinderella has become one of the most popular female streamers on Twitch thanks to her popular broadcasts and creative influencer-filled events like The Streamer Awards and Shitcamp. But it was actually her passion for these larger projects that resulted in her leaving TSM to join another organization. Misfits excitedly announced the signing on November 3, …
Twitch
Adin Ross and Corinna Kopf trolled by fake Adept on Twitch
Olivia Richman
Ever since it was revealed that Adept technically owned Felix “xQc” Lengyel’s luxury car, it’s become a big joke in the streaming community. xQc showed off a McLaren 720s Spider in late 2021 that cost $300,000. But fans were left confused as to why he spent money on a luxury sports car when he doesn’t even have a license. What nobody questioned at the time, however, was how did xQc …
Valorant
Is Toast going pro in Valorant? Dapr interested in joining team
Fariha Bhatti
Popular Twitch streamer and OfflineTV member Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang is considering going pro in Valorant, but he wants the cream of the crop on his team. Valorant esports is at its pinnacle in 2022. Riot Games has announced a separate off-season when exciting third-party tournaments would occur, but professional teams also use this time for roster swaps. Plenty of top Valorant players are waiting to be picked and Disguised …
Adept reveals that xQc’s McLaren is registered in her name
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Felix “xQc” Lengyel made headlines late last year when he revealed that he’d purchased a $300,000 McLaren 720s Spider, but it appears that the luxury car legally belongs to his ex-girlfriend Adept. Not only was the car quite flashy, but xQc has publicly stated in the past that he doesn’t have a license. This made it all the more odd that xQc would own such a pricey car just to …
Are xQc and Adept dating again? Fans spot her in xQc’s stream
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Felix “xQc” Lengyel and Adept have had a very public and dramatic off-and-on again relationship. It has left fans of the boisterous, outspoken streamer confused if the two are dating or not. Previously, xQc was in hot water for ditching Shitcamp last minute. The streaming community felt that it was inconsiderate at the time but wasn’t aware that xQc was secretly dealing with relationship issues that ultimately led to a …
Dr Disrespect asks Elon Musk to “wake up,” offers Twitter check mark alternative
Fariha Bhatti
News
In a weird crossover, Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm has offered a recommendation to Elon Musk amid debate around Twitter check mark monetization. Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition has been eventful. Memes, controversies, debates, and drama have swamped the social media site since the tech titan entered Twitter headquarters, carrying a sink. However, things took a serious turn when reports of the blue check mark going behind a paywall started swirling. Now, …
Pokimane responds to criticism after paying for parents’ retirement
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Imane “Pokimane” Anys has responded to haters that lashed out at her for a recent tweet about her parents’ retirement. Last night, Pokimane proudly announced that she had paid for her parents’ retirement, something that she felt very strongly about. She added in a follow-up tweet that she always felt “indebted” to her parents since they are immigrants and “nothing makes me happier than repaying them for their sacrifices.” The …
Adriana Chechik was pregnant during TwitchCon back injury
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Streamer Adriana Chechik has been sharing her recovery story ever since she broke her back at TwitchCon, and her most recent update has many in the Twitch community devastated. At TwitchCon 2022, Chechik jumped into the foam pit that Lenovo set up, leading to her injuring her spine in multiple places. While filled with foam blocks, the pit was too shallow and nothing was covering the concrete beneath, causing many …
Dr Disrespect gives bad review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Olivia Richman
Twitch
YouTuber Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm spent a large chunk of 2022 bashing Call of Duty: Warzone while promoting his own battle royale from his studio Midnight Society. Now, Dr Disrespect has given Modern Warfare 2 a shot and has an unsurprising summary of his experience. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was highly anticipated up to its release on October 28. Gamers had been enjoying the campaign for a week …
xQc rages over “busted” Zarya, calls for Overwatch 2 devs to fix the game
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Overwatch 2 has been riddled with controversy since launch, from queues with 30,000 players to controversial mods to an influx of cheaters. Now, popular streamer and former Overwatch League pro Felix “xQc” Lengyel is demanding more patches. Overwatch 2 has been ridiculed since the beta for its unbalanced roster of heroes. With the game going 5v5, tanks have become more aggressive, leaving DPS and support heroes more vulnerable than in …
MrBeast sponsors Ludwig’s Smash event after he loses $200K
William Davis
Twitch
Streamer Ludwig Ahgren revealed that he lost six figures on the most recent Ludwig Smash Invitational. Ludwig started his career as a content creator with Smash, so it is not a surprise that he gives back to this community as frequently as possible. On October 21, the Ludwig Smash Invitational took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The competition ran through the weekend and finished on October 23. It had competitors …
Dr Disrespect calls out Call of Duty players that want SBMM in
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm is no stranger to criticizing Call of Duty. In fact, it’s what he is often found doing during most of his streams and on his social media accounts. This time, he has taken aim at the franchise’s use of SBMM. SBMM is short for skill-based matchmaking, something that most FPS games — including the new Call of Duty game — use to ensure matches have similarly …
Should Twitch moderators be paid? Here’s what Kai Cenat says
William Davis
Twitch
Popular streamer Kai Cenat sparked a conversation after declaring that moderators cannot be expected to be paid if they volunteered for the job. Moderators are the unsung heroes of Twitch. The difference between an enjoyable chat and absolute chaos is good moderators. It is a lot of responsibility for little reward or sometimes none at all. One of the most popular streamers on the platform had something controversial to say …
MrBeast charity TeamTrees reaches 20 million trees planted
Olivia Richman
Twitch
YouTuber Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson has reached another milestone with his reforestation charity TeamTrees. MrBeast’s TeamTrees fundraiser recently reached its goal of planting 20 million trees around the world. TeamTrees has been popular over the past few years with influencers and celebrities like Elon Musk donating to the cause. Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke is currently the biggest donator to TeamTrees. TeamTrees reached $20 million raised in 2019. After three years of …
Twitch streamer allegedly shoots home invader during livestream
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch streamer MattDamnit reportedly shot a home invader while live. Twitch streamer MattDamnit went live on October 23 to play League of Legends with his small community. A little over eight minutes into the stream, however, MattDamnit heard someone come into his home. “Get the f— out of here,” he said off-camera. After the warning, viewers heard a gun shot. There was then four more shots. Then a woman’s voice …
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.
