Mixer is doing a much better job at being a streaming platform than Twitch currently. Shroud and Ninja might not be the only big stars to make a move.
Microsoft’s Mixer has been in the news due to the acquisitions they have been making this year. They started in August by first exclusively signing Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and then later on in mid-October by signing Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek. They have made some impactful blows to Twitch by taking away their top streamers. It’s good to see companies battling it out, which favors content creators worldwide, but actually, the moves may not have been due to the wishes of the company altogether, the intention of the streamers must have played a significant role in the decision. Let’s take a look at what are the reasons which led to Twitch losing its strongest troops to Mixer.
It started with Shroud and Ninja because of the apparent reason for them both being represented and handled by Loaded, a management company founded by Bandon Freytag. The decisions and strategy must have been going on for months before the actual move for all we know.
The players may have got a fat signing bonus from Microsoft, but regardless of that, Mixer does a much better job than Twitch for Streamers; let’s take a look at why.
Twitch Ban System is a mess
Twitch Bans are random, inconsistent, and sometimes completely illogical. The main reason behind this inconsistency is the application of a ‘case to case basis’ approach. Their rules are not uniform in nature and may change vary due to the reputation of the streamer and various other biased reasons. This is has been a long-existing problem, and Twitch even promised to provide transparency and an improved system, which is still nowhere to be found. These reasons are enough to make the streamers feel vulnerable, and no one wants to be caught in the ocean of random bans without any substantial reason.
Just days before, Clix got banned for playing with a banned streamer on live stream. The action was against the rules, true, but apart from Clix, the same thing had been done by Khanada, and he received only a 3-day ban. The reasoning behind the difference of punishments has not been commented upon by Twitch.
Also, Viperous got banned for seven days for merely using the word “nerd” in her stream. While nerd is such a basic and frequently used word with zero demeaning factor, she has been using it for a long time in her stream. Twitch randomly notices it after such a long time and places a ban due to that. This is an injustice to the streamer and hurts her livelihood.
The lack of consistency in Twitch’s moderation is something they need to really focus upon. Fareeha, a female Overwatch streamer, was issued a warning sign for apparently wearing inappropriate clothing during the stream. The clothes she wore were something a person would wear during a workout. Her contention was that it was not inappropriate she was just wearing what she felt comfortable in, and which would help her in long gaming sessions.
Twitch has not been the best consistent platform. So it’s only natural that streamers want to work in a better work environment.
Better Attributes
What matters to the streamers is the connectivity between them and the viewers. Mixer manages to do a better job at maintaining that.
Hypezone is one of the best features that Mixer provides. People who are missing out on a stream or find it hectic to watch full streams can just see the highlights and final moments of popular games. Hypezone is like a montage of actions filled clips without having to go through the entire stream.
The focus behind microtransactions has been something that Mixer thought about. The system of unlocking emotes and accessing other premium features is directly proportional to the amount of money you spend. Mixer, on the other hand, reduces the usage of such transactions by rewarding viewers with XP for watching streams.
Shroud about criticism
Shroud shared his view about the criticism he faced for moving from Twitch to Mixer. He is not trying to give in to the negativity and trying to soak up all the positivity from his supporters. The loyal ones won’t be harshly criticizing him, though; it’s the streamer you support and not the platform. He was getting second most viewers on Twitch, and slowly he will surely pick up the pace on Mixer too.
Well, Shroud and Ninja are not the last streamers to shift platforms. A lot of streamers are unhappy with the way their current platform is treating them. Twitch is not working on their drawbacks, which is repelling a lot of streamers and viewers. Mixer is actually providing better solutions and environments to streamers. At this time it is easy to deduce that Mixer is a way better platform than Twitch. New players are also entering the streaming competition such as YouTube and Facebook Live. Let’s see who emerges victorious in the end.
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