Twitch has officially revealed its Fright Fest event, where users can secure slightly scary cat emojis as well as a Crypt Clipper badge only if they participate in streaming together and sharing Halloween-related clips on October 27th – November 2nd. Nevertheless, the festive mood of the company was heavily criticized by the community, who pointed out moderation and transparency issues that had been plaguing Twitch for a long time.
But the main question is, what does Fright Fest entail? To sum it all up, Twitch is pushing feature Stream Together of streaming partners to get the limited-time items. For one to get the Crypt Clipper badge, one has to stream in the Fright Fest category and not just any game. It sure does sound pretty simple, right? But, the announcement seems to have created more chaos than thrill.
Twitch’s tweet reveals a very lively story in the comments. While some users like ReaperIsHere881 seemed to be really thrilled with their “Skeleton Skull” getting reception and others like Mew called the emotes “so cute,” the majority of negatives were… not positive then. The very loud voice was splitting the ground between those who want the cute cat emotes and those angry at Twitch for its ongoing moderation flaws.
A user by the name of karianneee_ inquired if it was necessary to stream in the Fright Fest category in order to be eligible for the badge or if using Stream Together was enough. This question was the start of a chain of follow-up postings with Ed-Boi even stating that they “wasted three days chasing these emotes” because of the unclear requirements. It seems that Twitch did not even communicate their event very clearly, which to be honest, is typical of them.
Nevertheless, the emotes are not the main issue for the drama. A lot of users have expressed their discontent in very strong words claiming that Twitch is favoring streamers who commit the most heinous acts. KitsuneKonobu tweeted “So what’s really scary is that you love SA when it’s female on Male, terroristic animal abusers, diaper fetishes, and deadbeat dads.” They were not the only ones – similar accusations against Twitch of being behind animal abuse, terrorism, and other horrible things spread quickly in the replies.
Hotwheels even went as far as to say that “the Amazon layoffs should start with your HR department and end with Dan,” referring to the CEO of Twitch, Dan Clancy. Ouch! That surely makes it clear how detached the leadership is from the users’ main complaints. Another user, AnarchyNexus, even posed the question “How about you fire Dan Clancy instead?” while discussing the Fright Fest. Clearly, the public displeasure with the event is only a part of their overall anger with the whole.
It is somewhat shocking that the mere announcement of a Halloween event has simultaneously turned into such a public discontent about Twitch’s larger issues. Although some creators such as PieFlyy and 3VON were ready to participate and explore horror games through Portals, they were probably among the very few. The majority of the conversation revolved around the platform’s moderation problems, mismanagement, and issues with the company’s policy.
Requiring Stream Together definitely contributed to the confusion with jiillyb3an questioning if they needed to actually stream together or simply be present with someone who was. The instructions were just not clear enough, and the way Twitch communicates has always been… well, questionable at best. Remember when they used to introduce new features without even informing anyone? Yes, this is just like that.
What really stands out is the division within the community. There are on one side, folks like SonicDAO2, who call it “Spooky cats incoming! 🐱💀” while on the other side are users who accuse Twitch of supporting pedophilia and animal abuse. It seems that there are two completely different discussions happening at the same time in the replies to one tweet. And Twitch simply… doesn’t seem to be bothered by any of the serious accusations. They are just continuing with their cute cat emojis as if nothing is wrong.
The timing is also quite interesting – it coincides with the news of Amazon layoffs and the fact that Twitch is still dealing with controversies regarding their treatment of problematic streamers. It’s like maybe just check the vibe, Twitch? People are really upset with very real issues, and there you are, teasing them with spooky cat emotes. It is like the “let them eat cake” analogy turned around and made for gamers instead.
Some users were even able to find humor in the situation, koppelintov quipped “Hey, twitch, I keep watching people abuse dogs, support terrorists, and encourage sexual assault, but for some reason, I’m not unlocking the Hasan badge. What gives?” That is, indeed, dark humor, but it accurately shows how people feel regarding the company’s priorities.
