This summer, game streaming titan Twitch, owned by Amazon, lost its biggest cross-over star Tyler’ Ninja’ Blevins. Where did he go? He went straight to Twitch’s competitor, Microsoft’s platform Mixer. He has publicly announced the reason for moving over to Mixer, and it has to do with Twitch’s inability to build Ninja’s brand. Microsoft and the gaming megastar have signed an exclusive contract.
This signing is seen as a power move made by Mixer against the leading streaming site Twitch.
Now a new segment in this narrative has began. Another massive gaming star, Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek, has jumped ship from Twitch to Mixer. Shroud currently has over 7 million followers on his Twitch account and will leave them all behind on Twitch to start anew with Mixer.
Here is Shroud’s announcement on Twitter:
Same shroud. New home.https://t.co/eZV2GBBSsY pic.twitter.com/AHaajkjees
— Michael Grzesiek (@shroud) October 24, 2019
When Ninja left, it seemed like the perfect scenario for Shroud. After Ninja’s departure, Shroud became the second-largest streamer on Twitch. One would think this was the ideal time to gain some of Ninja’s followers who did not want to leave Twitch to go to Mixer. However, this is not the case.
It is unknown at this time what deal has been struck between Shroud and Mixer. One would assume that the contract between the two parties will be beneficial for both.
In a statement, Shroud says, “Mixer provides the flexibility to center my attention around them. I am excited to join the Mixer community, as well as continue to build relationships with both players and fans.”
Shroud started his gaming career as a professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player. His skill in first-person shooters made him one of the most popular video game streamers ever. He plays a range of games, including PUBG and Apex Legends.
Mixer is making significant strides to gain popularity, and by bringing over two massive gaming stars, the platform has put itself in line for rapid growth. Currently, Mixer lags behind Twitch and YouTube in terms of popularity.
However, these platforms are successful because of the stars they have on the platform. If Microsoft Mixer keeps pulling these moves, a shift of balance can happen.
Typically, streamers are paid via viewership, meaning the more viewers a streamer gets, the more money they get from the platform. However, the fact that Mixer is seemingly making contracts to build the streamer’s brands and give them possible monetary compensation entices megastar gamers more.
By signing gamers to exclusive contracts, Mixer can try and manipulate the viewership market. That being said. Mixer has to be hopeful that Ninja and Shroud will bring with them the majority of their viewers.
