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- Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, the most popular gamer on Amazon-owned Twitch announced on Thursday an exclusive partnership with Mixer, Microsoft’s streaming service.
- Twitch is the most popular platform for video game streaming, and Ninja has more than 14 million followers there. Microsoft is hoping that audience will follow him to Mixer.
- But upset Twitch users have already started calling Ninja a sellout for swapping platforms, even before he officially makes his Mixer debut on August 2nd.
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Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, the most followed streamer on Twitch, is already facing backlash after announcing that he’ll be leaving the platform for Microsoft’s streaming service, Mixer. Ninja currently boasts more than 14 million followers on Twitch — more than twice as many as the second-most popular account.
While Microsoft is clearly betting that this exclusive partnership with Ninja will bring that massive audience to Mixer, upset Twitch users have already started slamming the superstar for swapping platforms.
It’s not clear exactly what Mixer offered Ninja to secure the exclusive partnership, or how long the deal will last. Viewers will still be able to watch Ninja for free on Mixer, and people who paid to subscribe to Ninja’s Twitch stream will be allowed to transfer their subscription to another Twitch user at no additional cost.
Twitch removed Ninja’s verified checkmark from his account shortly after the announcement, but his channel remains open.
When asked about his departure, Twitch offered the following statement: "We’ve loved watching Ninja on Twitch over the years and are proud of all that he’s accomplished for himself and his family, and the gaming community. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."
Despite the well wishes from Twitch, some have already started criticizing Ninja for moving to Mixer, even before his first official stream on the platform, which is expected to go down on Friday, August 2nd.
Ninja’s Mixer debut will come live from Lollapalooza 2019. His stream will broadcast from a Red Bull-sponsored studio from August 2 through August 4 starting at 12 p.m. CT each day.
While there have been plenty of harsh responses, some people have credited Ninja for making a wise business decision. The streamer is best known for playing "Fortnite," but he has said he wants to expand his repertoire and be open to more opportunities.
Even before this news, data from Streamlabs showed that despite his massive number of followers, Ninja had started to fall behind other Twitch streamers in actual viewership this year. The move to Mixer seems to come as his popularity on Twitch has passed some kind of inflection point.
Ninja’s move to Mixer seems likely to provide him greater financial security, but it remains to be seen if he can maintain the same level of viral popularity on the platform, which is far less visible and generally less popular than Twitch.
In the past Ninja has talked about the struggle to main subscribers on Twitch, including losing 40,000 paying subscribers during a two-day trip — the equivalent of $100,000 in monthly income.
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Source: Business Insider – kwebb@businessinsider.com (Kevin Webb)