The death of Microsoft streaming *cough* competitor *cough* Mixer had multiple major effects across the streaming landscape, but the one that made headlines was that its two biggest exclusive stars in Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek were suddenly no longer exclusive to a platform (despite still getting paid out for their full contracts). Whether the shuttering of Mixer was due to the economic ramifications of the pandemic or simply nature taking its course, the loss of a service attempting to toss hands with Twitch over the rights to big-name streamers was going to be felt regardless.
The shockwaves of that move continue to float through the upper crust of game streaming, as Ninja streamed Fortnite earlier this week on YouTube Gaming to the tune of 100,000 viewers, putting YouTube in a position to solidify its place as the runner-up in the game streaming relay race. However, this stream doesn’t mean that Ninja’s made any big decisions about where he’ll call home.
Boy, break-ups are tough.
.@Ninja is doing his first stream on YouTube today. He has been averaging above 100K viewers the entire time. According to @Slasher, Ninja hasn’t signed a new exclusive streaming deal yet.
Do you think the success of his stream today gives more (or less) leverage to YouTube?
— Blake Robbins (@blakeir) July 8, 2020
The stream makes sense from a synergy perspective, as Ninja’s personal YouTube channel already has a staggering 24 million subscribers who suddenly saw their Senpai go live. The move from Twitch to Mixer was one filled with animosity, especially when talking about the boatload of money offered–reported to have been somewhere between $20 and $30 million. With Mixer in the grave and Ninja still getting paid no matter what, it frees the popular Fortnite player to essentially do whatever he wishes. For now, that involves streaming on YouTube, but not under any kind of exclusive contract.
Esports personality Rod “Slasher” Breslau confirmed on Twitter that there is no contract in place for now, and more to the point that neither YouTube nor Twitch is looking to force one on a streamer anytime soon due to the current trends of the streaming market. After all, Twitch and YouTube aren’t so much competitors as they are adjacent rivals. It’s much like Microsoft and Sony: The PlayStation and Xbox aren’t actively competing for consumers at any given moment, trading off back and forth. Each platform has its set users who most likely aren’t going anywhere, and for now, that makes contracts all but moot.
Does this mean Ninja never signs a contract? Never say never, as the man likes his money, but for now, it appears as though he’s just testing the waters.
[Via: Game Revolution]
