That choice has now been advanced. Mixer will be closed on July 22, which doesn’t give the stars much time to find a solution.
Ninja and Shroud don’t have to worry about their finances, at least. The couple reportedly received “full payments” from Mixer, which means they made the same amount of money as if they had completed their contracts. They may have lost a lot of viewers on Mixer, Ninja’s average viewer count dropped by a third last year, but if anything, the change made them even more effective than they originally envisioned, because now they can supplement their Check Mix with income from another platform.
So where will they go next? For now, Ninja and Shroud are keeping their lips tight. “I love my community and what we build together on Mixer,” Ninja tweeted yesterday. “I have some decisions to make and I’ll be thinking about you as I make them.” Shroud, for his part, said: “I appreciate the Mixer community and everything I have been able to do on the platform. I love you guys and I’m discovering my next steps. “
Mixer would like their transmitters to move to Facebook Gaming. In a blog post, the Microsoft-owned division said it was partnering with Facebook “to better meet the needs of our community.”
I love my community and what we build together at Mixer. I have some decisions to make and I’ll be thinking about you as I make them.
– Ninja (@Ninja) June 22, 2020
Mark Zuckerberg’s company, meanwhile, has promised to give Mixer users an equivalent raise if they switch. That means streamers with Mixer association status will be partners in Facebook Gaming. Similarly, anyone who can monetize their streams on Mixer will be eligible for Facebook’s Level Up Program, which gives users access to Stars (a currency viewers can spend to support their favorite broadcasters) and stream in resolution of 1080p and 60 frames per second.
According to Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau, an esports consultant with a long history of accurate leaks, Facebook offered Ninja and Shroud “almost double” the amount they had agreed to with their original Mixer contracts. However, the pair declined, suggesting they are considering Twitch or YouTube Gaming.
Ninja and Shroud will enter those negotiations, accompanied by Loaded, a talent agency representing many high-profile streamers, including Jack “CouRage” Dunlop and TimTheTatman, with confidence. Ninja might have lost some viewers on Twitch, but he’s still the world’s most recognized broadcaster and started a chain reaction of exclusivity contracts. Similarly, Shroud is still considered one of the best first-person shooter (FPS) players in the West, after a successful esports career in Counter Strike global offensive. Twitch and YouTube will be interested in signing both, and the money offered will undoubtedly be high.
Twitch is the bigger of the two and arguably the obvious choice for both streamers. It is also considered the most lucrative platform of the day to day. Amazon Prime members, for example, receive a ‘free’ channel subscription every month, one of the many benefits of the Twitch Prime brand, which financially supports the receiving station. YouTube has a similar sponsorship system, but it has never been so popular because Google does not have a direct equivalent to Amazon Prime.
Changing platforms is easy, however doing so without losing viewers is difficult.
An easy choice, then? For Ninja, maybe not. The broadcaster expressed some frustrations with managing Twitch in an episode of Geordie’s true podcast shortly after signing with Mixer. The cultural icon said he wanted “a little more freedom” and was forced to respond when his now-inactive Twitch page suggested a broadcast showing pornographic material. However, that was about 10 months ago, and his feelings about the company may have changed since then.
Ninja and Shroud aren’t the only streamers in Mixer, of course.
Microsoft’s decision to shut down the platform has rocked smaller channel owners who have spent many years building an audience. Changing platforms is easy, however doing so without losing viewers is difficult. Every time a streamer moves to another site, you risk losing people who don’t like the layout of the platform, community guidelines, or the simple inconvenience of jumping between platforms to follow different stars.
However, if a Mixer user wants to continue his streaming career, he must choose a location and fast. Facebook Gaming is the smallest of the three, but receiving automatic partner status, if you were already a Mixer partner, that would ensure that you can start earning money right away. According to Breslau, the Zuckerberg company also offers a $ 2,500 signing bonus for Mixer partners who join the equivalent Facebook program for three months. For a smaller transmitter, that kind of money could make a difference as they try to rebuild an audience that is large and generous enough to support them in the long run.
Sources: Facebook offers a one-time signing bonus of $ 2,500 for Mixer members who choose to switch to the Facebook Game Creator Program and stay for 90 days (and fulfill obligations)
– Rod “4475 SR and Immortal Peak” Breslau (@Slasher) June 22, 2020
But is Facebook the best long-term bet? The streamers will be understandably cautious about moving to a platform that’s smaller than Twitch and YouTube, and could therefore shut down before the other two, in front of them to jump once again. However, Facebook is keen to promote its growth. A presentation leaked by Breslau showed that Facebook Gaming audience reached 291 million hours in April, a 238 percent increase from the same month in 2019. YouTube and Twitch had larger audiences, with 461 million and 1.491 billion. hours respectively, but its previous year Annual growth was lower.
Facebook’s rise can be attributed to a few different factors. The video game stream is no longer buried in the sidebar of the desktop site, for example where few people could find it. The company has created a dedicated gaming app, something YouTube tried, but eventually gave up, and signed deals with prolific streamers like Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, and UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.
Facebook’s future association with Xbox could also spark the curiosity of streamers. Microsoft wants Project xCloud, a service still in beta that allows you to play games through streaming, to be a part of Facebook Gaming in the future. “Imagine a scenario where people can instantly go from watching a Facebook Gaming creator’s live feed to jumping and playing with their closest friends, all with a single click,” said Vivek Sharma, Vice President and Head of Facebook. Gaming in a blog post.
Google has made a similar launch with Stadia, a rival service for xCloud, and alternatives like NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. Google and Microsoft believe that streaming can be a bridge for casual gamers who don’t own a gaming console or PC. It’s not hard to imagine a world where viewers pay to queue and duo with Ninja in a multiplayer game like Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone.
It won’t be long before we know where Mixer users have decided to take root next.
However, Amazon is rumored to be working on its own video game streaming service, which could eventually be linked to Twitch in a similar way. And for many streamers, the feature is largely redundant in 2020. At the moment, eyeballs are everything, and the platform with the most eyeballs with Twitch.
How The Verge reportsMany streamers also dislike Facebook as a company, which is considered data-hungry and still has the scars of multiple privacy issues. Few people the website spoke to seriously considered Facebook Gaming’s offer, and leaned toward the Twitch platform.
Therefore, some will now see the video game streaming market as a two horse race. A battle between Twitch and YouTube to get the best talent and the largest audience. However, Facebook’s huge cash reserves and social reach should not be underestimated. For some streamers, the choice will be easy. But for others, the coming weeks will be a difficult period of consideration and negotiation. Regardless, it won’t be long before we know where Mixer users have decided to take root next.
