As the livestreaming platform Mixer comes closer to its closing date, Xbox One released an update over the weekend that completely removes the app from the console.
A few weeks ago, the livestream community was shaken up by the news that Mixer would be shutting down and partnering with Facebook Gaming. Mixer was formerly known as Beam before being acquired by Microsoft. After bleeding funds and chugging behind more successful streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch, Microsoft made the decision to hand the site off to Facebook Gaming. Some insider reports on the Mixer shutdown suggests that using its own money to promote itself and make deals with streamers was a key reason funds were dissipating.
Mixer is set to completely close down by July 22nd, only a couple of days away, and as it begins shutting its doors on viewers, it's now been scrubbed from Xbox via a new update to the One that was released over the weekend, along with making the Events app a permanent addition and revamping some icons. Mixer's website currently remains open with an ever-dwindling number of streamers and watchers, however, after the 22nd, any Mixer links will redirect to Facebook Gaming.
This closure displaced many streamers who chose not to partner with Facebook Gaming, but bigger names like Ninja had no trouble finding a new home on YouTube. He initially streamed on Twitch before deciding that the platform was too toxic, an issue many users have noted throughout their streaming careers. After switching to Mixer, Ninja started with upwards of a million followers just five days later. Following the news of Mixer's shutdown, however, he had no intention of returning to Twitch and looked towards YouTube, where his first livestream yielded him over 167,000 viewers.
Facebook Gaming, on the other hand, is welcoming creating contracts with ex-Mixer streamers, but even after offering big-named streamers like Ninja and Shroud an insane amount of money to join its platform, many ex-Mixer users are turning away from creating content on Facebook's platform.
And while many used to consider Twitch and Facebook Gaming the only real competitors in the livestreaming business, YouTube expects to see a surge in watchers now that Mixer is closing its doors, and might become a firm contender against the other two platforms in the months to come.