On Thursday, Blevins announced that from now on he will stream simultaneously on “all platforms” – specifically Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. This follows a similar announcement from Anys last week, in which she said she plans to drastically reduce the amount of time she streams video games on Twitch in favor of a more diverse spread of videos and shorts on topics like fashion and travel via YouTube. , TikTok, and Instagram.
While neither intends to leave Twitch completely, they no longer see the benefit of Twitch exclusivity in an era where Twitch offers less money (if it offers exclusivity contracts at all) and creators reduce the unpredictability of individual platforms by putting their eggs in it. to cross several baskets. In addition, Twitch recently informed partner streamers who do not have exclusivity contracts that they can now stream for free on other platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, another concession to long-standing, verging on unsolvable problems such as findability at a time when Twitch is too face more competition than ever.
During her announcement — which came after a month-long streaming hiatus — Anys discussed the mental toll nearly a decade of streaming has taken on her.
“When I put myself out there so often, especially streaming, it’s all about this constant feedback loop of people telling you what they think of you,” she said, referring to the thousands of online comments she receives each day. “As an adult in your early years you are figuring out who you are, discovering yourself. And I feel like if I’m constantly putting myself on the map, I’m not taking the time to really reflect or grow as an individual — or think about what I like.”
During her month off, Anys did some thinking and realized, “When I see stuff on Twitch these days, it kind of feels like ‘been there, done that,'” she said. “I’m not really, really excited or passionate about much.”
She tearfully explained that it feels like she’s “closing a chapter” by diverting her attention from Twitch, but that this change is necessary for her mental and emotional well-being.
Blevins also made his announcement after what appeared to be a mental health crisis, which in hindsight turned out to be a promotional stunt. Last week, he abruptly ended a stream where he got frustrated while playing “Fortnite”, proverb“I just need a break…I don’t know when I’ll be back, or where.” Shortly after, he changed his Twitter display name to “User Not Found” and changed his profile picture to a blank default image. He also lost partner status on Twitch.
Many were sincerely concerned with this and wished Blevins a speedy recovery from the burnout that has now become an epidemic among streamers. But the move happened to coincide with the end of his two-year Twitch exclusivity contract – which he first announced in September 2020. Some streamers, such as Anys and Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, suspected a marketing stunt.
This week they turned out to be right. After Anys’ heartfelt video on the subject, the move left a bitter taste in many creators’ mouths.
“Seeing Ninja Using Mental Health as a Marketing Tool for” [his] latest venture is beautiful [crummy]” said a Twitch partner and therapist in training who pulls Jebro on the lever, using a vulgar term for moving. “It stigmatizes mental health even more within the streaming realm.… People have real mental health issues, everywhere. This makes me nauseous, to be honest.”
“The whole ‘User not found’ [thing] had rightly concerned people because it mimicked many people suffering from internal demons,” said “Mario Kart” champion Bassem “BearUNLV” Dahdouh. “This has been horribly executed and whoever thought it was a good idea has no empathy.”
On Friday, Blevins streamed across all of the aforementioned platforms and tried to juggle chats on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook — with varying degrees of success. He didn’t read chat on the platform where he unexpectedly found the most success: TikTok, on which he attracted more than 17,000 simultaneous viewers, compared to about 13,000 on Twitch, 8,000 on YouTube and 1,000 on Facebook and Twitter. Considering Blevins landed in similar reach on Twitch before the switch across all platforms, you could call this a success – albeit with the caveat that streamers almost always experience inflated numbers immediately after a major move.
Blevins and Anys are hardly alone when it comes to hitting a wall with live streaming on Twitch. Staying at the top requires grueling planning and an eagle eye for ever-changing trends, and that’s if you can work your way to the top on a platform with well-documented findability issues. Even – and perhaps especially – the best are destined for burnout. Now we’re starting to see not just what’s coming for individual creators, but how this inevitability is redefining the idea of what a Twitch streamer even is.
As always, Twitch remains the biggest game in town when it comes to live streaming, but it’s not hard to imagine a future where the majority of current Twitch creators view streaming as just one tool in a much larger multi-toolkit. platforms, in which only a select few consider themselves in the first place Twitch streamers. Blevins and Anys aren’t the first to turn Twitch from a main gig into an afterthought. They probably won’t be the last.
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