Twitch
Twitch
Sykkuno is leaving Twitch for YouTube, and this is why
Olivia Richman
The reason behind Sykkuno’s mysterious behavior has been revealed. Fans have been wondering why Sykkuno has been so outwardly emotional, and it appears to be due to a switch from Twitch to YouTube. Sykkuno has been streaming on Twitch for a while, usually found collaborating with Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang and Imane “Pokimane” Anys. During a recent stream, Sykkuno thanked all of his friends for making his time streaming more …
Twitch
Sykkuno says Twitch monetization changes are “scary”
Olivia Richman
Twitch recently announced some impactful monetization changes that has many streamers on the platform feeling concerned. Top content creator Sykkuno is the latest to voice his frustration with the streaming platform. A report by Bloomberg revealed that Twitch revenue would cap at 50% instead of the current 70%. There may be more ad breaks introduced as well. None of these changes are popular with streamers, even though Twitch added that …
Twitch
Is Sodapoppin racist? His family wonders after Twitch ban
Olivia Richman
Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris returned to Twitch earlier this week after a two-week suspension from the platform for a controversial clip gone viral. During a stream earlier in April, Sodapoppin started painting a character’s face dark brown while saying “blackface” out loud. He then proceeded to add large lips, causing his viewers to become uncomfortable. Despite the buzzing chat, Sodapoppin didn’t seem aware of the uproar he was being given. Twitch …
Twitch
Everything about Jerma, the absurdist streaming sensation
William Davis
Streamer extraordinaire Jeremy “Jerma985” Elbertson has become a household name on Twitch, but is there more to him than meets the eye? Jerma985 is probably one of the greatest success stories on Twitch. Jerma started out as a somewhat popular YouTuber before transitioning to livestreaming, which exploded his popularity. Now he’s an icon of absurdist humor, something he continues to push forward in his broadcasts. Here’s everything there is to …
Twitch
Who is Adin Ross and how did he get so controversial on Twitch?
Olivia Richman
Adin Ross is a name most of the streaming community recognizes even though he’s still a relatively new name on Twitch. In a short span of time, Adin Ross has been connected to an extensive list of controversies and dramatics. But just who is Adin Ross, and how did he become famous to begin with? Adin Ross was born on October 11, 2000, making him 21 years old today. Adin …
Twitch
Adin Ross has been banned from Twitch, and here’s why
William Davis
After weeks of suspense, Adin Ross has been officially banned from Twitch. Adin Ross will be unable to stream or appear on other streamers’ channels after an official ban from Twitch staff. The exact cause is uncertain, but many fans believe it is related to Adin using homophobic slurs on another streamer’s channel. The duration of the ban is not yet known, but it is likely temporary and probably less …
Twitch
Amouranth reveals OnlyFans earnings after quitting adult content
Olivia Richman
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa is quitting adult content in June, including OnlyFans. This came as a surprise to the streaming community since it’s how Amouranth was previously making the majority of her money. But just how much money was Amouranth earning on OnlyFans? Amouranth has decided to spill all the details. Amouranth has been continuously bending Twitch’s rules with sensual new “metas” as well as coming up with wild new ways …
Twitch
Ninja reveals new branding, and fans hate it
Olivia Richman
Twitch’s original superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has just announced a new logo and branding. But it may not have been the glow-up Ninja was hoping for. On Twitter, Ninja tweeted to his 5.7 million followers that his new branding had finally arrived. The fresh rebrand features black letters of varying thickness below a spiky shape representing his signature blue hair. This would replace his usual logo, which featured a ninja-like …
Who is Sapnap, the Minecraft streamer and musician?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Nicholas “Sapnap” is a Minecraft content creator who’s been growing on Twitch and across social media. The Minecraft streaming community has itself been growing thanks to the likes of popular personalities Dream and GeorgeNotFound, and Sapnap can often be seen collaborating with these Minecraft stars. But how did Sapnap get started? Sapnap was born in Texas on 2001, making him 21 years old. He fell in love with gaming at …
Disguised Toast denies his team cheated in Twitch Rivals Rust
Olivia Richman
Twitch
The streaming community was disheartened when a Twitch Rivals Rust tournament meant to be fun ended in chaos and drama. Twitch Rivals Rust Team Battle was billed as a lighthearted competition between multiple regions, even bringing in Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang as a team captain for a North American squad full of popular streamers. But the final day of action was canceled after Toast and his team realized that the …
Twitch Rivals Rust controversy hits xQc, Toast, Spanish team
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Twitch Rivals Rust Team Battle was set to be one of the most fun competitions on the streaming platform to date, but ended early due to controversy. Featuring some of the biggest names in streaming, the Twitch Rivals Rust Team Battle event was supposed to last three days before Twitch cut it short. The Day 3 broadcast was canceled entirely. Twitch Rivals Rust Team Battle was heavily anticipated event thanks …
Amouranth discusses IQ after being called “fake smart” by fans
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa is known for her assets — like her gas station and ball pit company. Amouranth may have gotten her start as an adult content creator, but she has since become well known for her various investment schemes. Amouranth even stated recently that she is soon to be leaving OnlyFans behind for a new career. But not everyone is impressed with Amouranth’s new focus on investment and finance. …
Amouranth announces retirement from adult content, what’s next?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa says that she is leaving her e-girl life behind. Amouranth has become one of the most iconic figures on popular streaming platform Twitch, known for her boundary-pushing streaming trends ranging from wearing revealing bikinis while lounging in hot tubs to licking microphones in the ASMR category while showing off her yoga pants. Through it all, Amouranth has also invested in a plastic ball company while becoming the …
Adin Ross says homophobic slur on stream, adds to criticisms
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Adin Ross is under fire once again, this time for saying a homophobic slur on a stream. Twitch streamer Adin Ross has been continuously criticized over the past few months for his close association with content creators banned for making threats and sexual harassment. But now, Adin Ross is himself the subject of ridicule after his using a homophobic slur while believing he was off-stream. Full Squad Gaming co-owner and …
Disguised Toast reveals why he respects YouTubers over streamers
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Streaming star Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang recently admitted that he respects YouTubers more than Twitch streamers. And there’s a reason for it. Disguised Toast has had an interesting history with Twitch. He recently moved back to Twitch despite sharing some controversial details about the platform just weeks before. The streamer alleged that Twitch refused to offer Disguised Toast a bigger contract since the company already had other big-name streamers that …
Who is STPeach, the popular streamer banned for Cammy cosplay?
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Lisa “STPeach” Vannatta is a popular Twitch streamer that’s quickly risen in notoriety thanks to her blend of IRL vlogging streams and gaming content. But who is the woman behind the cosplays? STPeach is a popular Twitch streamer who has gone through a lot of controversies, ranging from confronting stalkers to getting banned for overly revealing cosplays. The nature of her streaming career has resulted in both fame and infamy …
MrBeast breaks YouTube viewer records across multiple channels
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson had an incredible March with record-breaking YouTube viewership. But what drove so many people to his channel? MrBeast is one of the biggest content creators on YouTube thanks to his innovative videos, known for creating challenges that come with big prizes. This includes his notorious Squid Games recreation, where he built every single challenge from the hit Netflix show. Even crazier, MrBeast had 456 participants. The final …
Why was Izi Prime banned from Twitch? A viral video shows why
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Izi Prime, a streamer best known for being friends with Adin Ross, has been banned from Twitch following a controversial video clip going viral. Izi Prime seemed to suddenly disappear from Twitch, leaving fans wondering what happened this time. The streamer had just returned from a previous ban after Felix “xQc” Lengyel accused him of cheating in a Call of Duty Black Ops 2 match the two had wagered on. …
Twitch unbans hot tub streamer ExoHydraX after racism accusation
Olivia Richman
Twitch
Even though Twitch is known fo itsr inconsistent bans and punishments, the streaming community has still shocked by the company’s sudden decision to unban ExoHydraX. ExoHydraX was banned at the height of the hot tub meta in the summer of 2021. At the time, ExoHydraX was wearing a revealing bathing suit and hanging out in a blow-up hot tub, much like other popular adult content creators at the time. But …
xQc receives death threats after Reddit Place stunt
Olivia Richman
Twitch
The return of r/Place on Reddit has been huge in the gaming world, with various communities fighting for a piece of the composite virtual image. The battle has now become bigger than ever thanks to popular streamers like Felix “xQc” Lengyel getting in on the action. Place was originally created in 2017 as an April Fools’ Day activity by Reddit. The original Place experiment lasted for 72 hours, with 1 …
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.
