Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins has revealed that Twitch “wouldn’t budge” to allow him more freedom and that he made the move to Mixer not just for his own benefit but for that of everyone in the streaming community.
Speaking on the True Geordie Podcast, Ninja goes into detail as to why he became unhappy with Twitch and reveals that his move to rival streaming platform Mixer in August was done to end Twitch’s monopoly over streamers and to put the ball back in their court when it came to negotiating deals. He also revealed that, in comparison to the lengthy talks that he had been having with Twitch, Ninja had his Mixer deal thrashed out in just two weeks.
When asked why he initially wanted to move away from Twitch, Ninja says: “I’m not saying we were looking to leave [Twitch]. We weren’t. We wanted to make it work… We gave them so many [opportunities] like: ‘Hey guys, listen, what are you doing?’ We were not asking for a lot, and I’m not even talking money, we just wanted a little bit more freedom and they just weren’t budging. Then we talked with Mixer and in two weeks all the negotiations were like alright, perfect, done. It was so simple, so quick.”
He also says that he knew leaving Twitch would give fellow streamers on the platform more opportunities and freedom to grow themselves.
“I knew what it [the Mixer deal] was going to do for a lot of other streamers and gamers,” Ninja says. “That’s what I kept telling myself in the back of my head, that the deal was great – and I really do love the platform its incredible – but my wife and I we went into this like we’re doing this for everyone else. And look what happened, man, we got people bidding, resigning to Twitch, moving to YouTube, more people being signed and getting deals and that’s how it should be.”
It’s safe to say that Ninja’s prediction was right. His departure from Twitch has seen an exodus of big names from the platform to go to not only Mixer like Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek but also to YouTube Gaming like Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop or Facebook Gaming like Jeremy ‘Disguised Toast’ Wang.
While other platforms have managed to poach some big names, Twitch still remains the top dog in the streaming world by a fair distance, even if the departure of some of their most recognisable personalities is a bit of a dent in their reputation.
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