If Twitch has a face, it’s one of a polite fella with blue hair and a humble style of playing games that doesn’t make you want to reach through your TV screen so that you can permanently silence the grating chuckle-monkey in front of you. Having risen to fame with his Fortnite streams, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has long been the de facto name in livestreaming for a good couple of years now over on Twitch.
That’s all about to change, as Blevins isn’t just trying out a new service for his future streams. He’s making that move exclusive as he heads towards the lucratively greener pastures of Mixer. “I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but as of today, I will be streaming exclusively on Mixer,” Blevins said in a video posted on his Twitter account.
I feel like this is a really good chance to get back in touch with my roots and really remember why I fell in love with streaming in the first place.
That’s a huge scoop for Mixer, as Microsoft’s livestreaming service has been the Glass Joe to Twitch’s Mike Tyson for many a year now. The service itself is a rad one and has plenty of user-friendly features within it, but it has yet to crack the armour of the near-monopoly that Twitch has on the streaming industry. With Blevins, Mixer has nabbed a celebrity whose audience reach on Twitch reaches around 15 million followers. How many of those followers are willing to make the transition from Mixer to Twitch, remains to be seen.
“We’ve loved watching Ninja on Twitch over the years and are proud of all that he’s accomplished for himself and his family, and the gaming community. We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors,” Twitch said in a statement via Kotaku. The big question here, is just how effective Microsoft’s acquisition of Ninja (for what must have been a stupid amount of cash) will be and if his personal brand can help drive eyeballs towards Mixer.
The biggest name is never a solid guarantee, but if the presence of Ninja does see numbers rise for Mixer, we could be looking at a whole new bidding war for influencers and the rights to host their presence exclusively on any given platform. Twitch, if you’re listening, you can have me locked down for a mere million bucks. Okay, R500 000. FIVE RAND AND THAT’S MY FINAL OFFER!
…I’ll serve you for that half-eaten Twinkie in the bin, c’mon guys.
Last Updated: August 2, 2019
G8crasha
August 2, 2019 at 11:46
MS have a lot more work to do with their Xbox PC program if they more strongly link it with their Mixer service. It’s okay, but lacks the fine tuning of Steam. I guess it is still in beta, and is new to the gaming world, but I had numerous problems with Metro Exodus and the overlay.
And yeah, they must have payed Ninja a crap ton of money, but I’m just confused as to how this will work considering Fortnite, which is Ninja’s go to game, is an Epic Games exclusive title. So, MS is paying somebody who is technically promoting the epic store to play the game on Mixer, which is an MS service, and yet, they have a store as well, that is a direct competitor the the Epic Store. Again, confusion reigns for me!
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 11:30
Clever move (from Mixer)
Deal out some initial cash, make lots later. Smort
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 11:30
@Darryn, I’ll pay you R5 a DAY to stream to my…ahem…private stream. For, scientific reasons
G8crasha
August 2, 2019 at 11:46
Creepy!!!
The D
August 2, 2019 at 13:42
OH YOU
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 17:03
Screw working for those Twitcharoos, I’ll pay you more!
The D
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
I legit do want to start when I move to my new pad. Any content you guys want to see in particular? Hitman streams where I show you how to kill every NPC?
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
“Hot Ones” South Africa edition
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
You have my vote
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
When, where and why are you moving?
The D
August 2, 2019 at 17:35
Hopefully end of this month into a flatlet and because FREEDOM
Dutch Matrix
August 2, 2019 at 18:52
Also telling girls he lives in a flatlet sounds marginally better than saying I live in my parents’ basement.
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 18:52
Lekker man
I expect you will be streaming in this lil’ number as well?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e558dc83628c68d30a6e355865d96180e97c1246f0c2f11a10e9498df044fa3f.jpg
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 18:52
This actually is a lot less slutty than most of the IRL streamers on Twitch
Dutch Matrix
August 3, 2019 at 00:56
For the sanity of all.
Eye bleach. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bbd89cb34c4d975d35fcb810f9a6689ead74d66e8a057f59539c133574a57d67.jpg
Dutch Matrix
August 2, 2019 at 19:03
MY EYES!!!!
Dresden
August 2, 2019 at 20:16
Following you on Twitch, will seriously sub if you stream more than once a week.
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
Do some co op streams with Matty. Also join the ZAstreams discord as we try and up the views of local streamers from there.
Dutch Matrix
August 2, 2019 at 17:25
The Sims 4 streams.
Trifle recipes.
Readings of your Batman and Geoff erotic fiction…
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 18:39
Chili eating
The D
August 3, 2019 at 00:55
NEIN
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 3, 2019 at 08:09
JA, weekly
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 11:30
Twitch should watch out though, I have never heard of Mixer before this and checked it out this morning. Less forced ads to click away in your stream (mostly from Amazon) and a LOT better video player.
Dutch Matrix
August 2, 2019 at 11:37
Hang on! Am I the only one seeing the irony in this?
A Ninja that WANTS to be seen?
G8crasha
August 2, 2019 at 11:46
MS have a lot more work to do with their Xbox PC program if they more strongly link it with their Mixer service. It’s okay, but lacks the fine tuning of Steam. I guess it is still in beta, and is new to the gaming world, but I had numerous problems with Metro Exodus and the overlay.
And yeah, they must have payed Ninja a crap ton of money, but I’m just confused as to how this will work considering Fortnite, which is Ninja’s go to game, is an Epic Games exclusive title. So, MS is paying somebody who is technically promoting the epic store to play the game on Mixer, which is an MS service, and yet, they have a store as well, that is a direct competitor the the Epic Store. Again, confusion reigns for me!
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 14:00
I think this is purely just to pull views and nothing more, MS wants that sweet sweet ad revenue.
G8crasha
August 2, 2019 at 17:12
Possibly, but it is quite the gamble. I guess they are looking at a potential long term strategy – MS becomes the de facto go to source for all things gaming, especially on PC, and in the Xbox console environment.
Yahtzee
August 2, 2019 at 17:12
They wont ever do that with that horrid store of theirs, I will go as far as to say the Epic store is better than MS store… now excuse me while I got scrub my mouth with a toilet bowl scrubber.
Dresden
August 2, 2019 at 20:16
Epic is *gulp* better than MS store. *retches uncontrollably*
Admiral Chief Umbra
August 2, 2019 at 14:10
I don’t think it is the ad revenue they are after, more about the publicity or a piece of the action
RinceThis
August 2, 2019 at 11:46
https://media.giphy.com/media/l2SpKjO20hPyhr1fy/giphy.gif
Dutch Matrix
August 2, 2019 at 14:00
Imma let you finish https://media2.giphy.com/media/6mZTKJjiwhkKk/giphy.gif
Dr Webster Flexington
August 2, 2019 at 12:56
I’m Not a fan of Twitch. Their weird moderation has gotten on my nerves in the past, but I can’t be happier for Mixer. This definitely puts them on the map, and whoever can take a bite out of the Twitch pie gets a thumbs up from me. Sure, Mixer is basically Microsoft, but removing power from Twitch will hopefully get them back on the right track. Now if only something similar can happen to Twitter.
CrAiGiSh
August 2, 2019 at 13:42
When you got the cash, you can even buy streamers now … XD