For the better part of a decade, Twitch has remained one of the more dominant live-streaming platforms in the industry. After all, Twitch is home to some of the biggest names in the gaming world, such as xQc, Amouranth, Ninja, and Pokimane. The website has an impressive 140 million monthly active users.

However, in recent months, many well-known streamers have been leaving Twitch for YouTube. While this has been done before, seeing as CourageJD was one of the first notable content creators to make the transition in 2019, the surplus of announcements over the past year has been surprising for some. With the list of streamers switching platforms continually growing, this has led some to wonder about the reasoning behind these moves.

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Why Streamers Are Leaving Twitch

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There isn't any single reason that popular streamers are switching from Twitch, especially since each person has their own individual circumstances. However, many shared elements have enticed these content creators to be taken under YouTube Gaming's wing, though some opposing streamers have been outspoken in that they believe moving to YouTube is selling out.

The first major reason is the financial security that YouTube provides. By paying streamers a certain amount of money to be on their platform exclusively, it ensures that streamers won't have to worry about how many donations or subs they earned in a month. Valkyrae commented on this after her move, saying that she could have just one viewer, and it wouldn't matter. On the other side, popular streamer xQc said it would cost YouTube $1 billion to get him exclusively.

The second aspect has to do with the manner in which Amazon has treated its content creators at times. In the past, creators have been upset at what they deem to be unfair Twitch bans, feeling like the platform wasn't listening to their advice. DisguisedToast, for example, left Twitch for two years to stream on Facebook Gaming because of the pay gap. Twitch was offering him only 1/30th of what Facebook and other sites were willing to give him. In contrast, Valkyrae said that she feels the "YouTube team is ... very attentive, supportive, and listens to [her] feedback."

The third reason is more circumstantial for each streamer but revolves around the fact that these social media stars have a better shot at building a community and brand on YouTube. They are able to upload entertaining videos to their channel, create community posts, and sell merchandise all in a single location.

Interestingly, Ninja recently ended his Twitch exclusivity as he plans to stream on every available platform. This information has left some wondering if that means YouTube has offered him a deal that will see him earning more on their platform, as long as he streams predominantly on their site.

Major Streamers That Have Left Twitch for YouTube

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A list of notable streamers that have left Twitch to stream exclusively on YouTube include:

  • CourageJD - November 5, 2019
  • Valkyrae - January 13, 2020
  • LazarBeam - January 13, 2020
  • Muselk - January 13, 2020
  • Dr Disrespect - August 7, 2020
  • Dr Lupo - August 30, 2021
  • TimTheTatman - September 1, 2021
  • Ludwig - November 29, 2021
  • Sykkuno - May 2, 2022
  • LilyPichu - July 7, 2022
  • Myth - July 11, 2022
  • FaZe Swagg - September 1, 2022
  • Fuslie - September 6, 2022

Of course, Twitch is still one of the most popular streaming websites, and it will likely remain that way for quite some time. It's clear that YouTube is doing its best to compete with Amazon's service by contracting big-name streamers and are seemingly accomplishing what Microsoft's Mixer couldn't. If YouTube manages to keep this up, it may result in a streaming repertoire to match that of Twitch.

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