April 24, 2023
What website immediately pops into your mind when you think of gaming content? It has to be Twitch. The Amazon-owned streaming platform has dominated the gaming content scene for more than a decade. However, with recent changes in terms of service, management, and everything in between, it seems like our favorite streaming platform is losing some big names in the industry. But what’s causing all these bigshot streamers to jump ship?
Besides shortcomings in Twitch’s revenue split, alleged favoritism, and stringent ruling, a newcomer could be the reason behind the current exodus. The community believes Kick has the potential to dethrone the current reigning streaming platform Twitch. It seems Kick is a worthy competitor for being a pure streaming website. It has already roped in a dozen of Twitch heavy-lifters and it has no plans of stopping.
Why is Twitch its losing bigshot streamers?
Twitch has been dominating the streaming scene for more than ten years. However, in recent years, they’ve been facing some stiff competition from other platforms like YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and Microsoft’s Mixer (which, unfortunately, got shut down) since hosting a live-streaming platform is expensive and not very profitable. Despite the cut-throat competition, Twitch has always come out stronger.
The only time Twitch was on the verge of losing its audience was when YouTube started focusing more on gaming. YouTube, in particular, has been a thorn in Twitch’s side. Although YouTube is mainly known for hosting recorded video content, it still attracted some big names away from Twitch, like Valkyrae, Ludwig, and more. But YouTube has no niche, so Twitch survived the competition as a gaming powerhouse.
On the other hand, the all-new Kick is a direct competitor and is a purely content streaming platform that offers better revenue shares and more lenient terms of service. Everything that top streamers want in their preferred platform. For these reasons, Kick has emerged as Twitch’s strongest competitor to date.
However, it’s still new and has some practical issues. They have jumped on a timed opportunity but have yet to consider the most important variables surrounding the platform. Content creators prefer platforms that prioritize their success and are in tune with the culture of content creation. Platforms that don’t generate their income through their content creators don’t care about the success of creators.
You’ve probably heard about some significant changes happening at Twitch. The co-founder of Twitch, Emmett Shear, has stepped down as CEO, and Dan Clancy (President of the company) is taking over. Not everyone is thrilled about this change.
The new CEO, Dan Clancy, was the one who wrote the letter to streamers about the revenue share. As a result, content creators have reportedly expressed concern and are worried that the new CEO might be out of touch. The current state of Twitch’s management suggests that significant changes may be needed for the platform to keep up with the competition and keep its notable streamers happy.
In fact, Twitch recently announced in a blog post that they would lay off 400 employees. However, it is unclear if the affected employees have been notified yet. Furthermore, the layoffs suggest that the platform could be more stable, and streamers are starting to question their future on Twitch.
All of this has added fuel to the fire. Content creators, especially full-timers, look for stability, money, and security — three things Twitch hasn’t been paying much attention to lately.
Is there a real competition between Kick and Twitch?
So, it’s no wonder some big names like Trainwreck and Adin Ross have already switched to Kick. And rumors are flying around that even the #1 top streamer on Twitch, Kai Cenat, might be jumping ship soon.
But Kick is still new and has some kinks to iron out. Some streamers have already been caught streaming explicit and copyrighted content without moderation, which could lead to some legal troubles. With time, streamers may also skirt away from Kick’s reputation. Amouranth is the latest streamer who revealed that she hasn’t completely scratched out Kick as a potential platform, but she won’t move there full-time.
“Their reputation is risky,” Amouranth explained why Kick isn’t suitable as a full-time platform.
However, a good thing for creators switching to Kick is a 95/5 cut in revenue. It is very enticing compared to Twitch’s 50/50. But what’s in it for Kick? As mentioned earlier, hosting a live-streaming platform is not cheap, and Kick is still offering a hefty 95/5 revenue split. It seems the new platform isn’t looking to generate income from revenue sharing. Then, how does it benefit from streamers? It makes you wonder if there’s an ulterior motive.
Kick is owned by Stake, a gambling company. However, Kick is a streaming platform. But at its core, it’s a gambling website. So, their monetization goals aren’t necessarily related to the success of their streamers. Instead, they’re more interested in promoting their gambling site by attracting more creators, offering good monetization choices, and, in turn, exposing the incoming traffic to their gambling site and earning revenue from them.
So, to answer the question, is the competition real? Well, yes, there is competition between Kick and Twitch, but it is important to note that the two platforms have different business models and monetization goals.
While Twitch has seen competition recently, Kick is emerging as a strong competitor with the addition of well-known streamers under its name. However, Kick needs to improve its terms of service and moderation to avoid legal troubles, and its primary monetization goals may not be directly related to the success of its streamers.
But overall, Kick’s enticing revenue split for creators is hard to resist, especially compared to Twitch’s 50/50. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Kick can sustain itself and compete with Twitch’s legacy, a team of learned gaming strategists, and the gaming niche that it promises.