Ninja leaves Twitch instead of Mixer
Even though you might be not the biggest fan if cybersports, you have probably heard about Ninja. Tyler Blevins got his popularity a few years ago as a skilled Twitch streamer. Now, his reputation is mainly supported by his steps in the marketing niche. Yep, this Fortnite star got like a million bucks streaming Overwatch, one of the newest market entrants. He’s also the one to have a Red Bull label on his fridge. Many brands would like to approach this guy for promoting their products, but obviously, his price list is a significant obstacle.
Not for Microsoft though. Just a week ago, Ninja hit the lines with an unexpected announcement. He’s leaving Twitch (the streaming platform by Amazon established in 2014) to work with Mixer. Considering that the average monthly income Blevis got at Twitch was estimated to be around $500k, the contract with Mixer should include some exorbitant numbers. Rumor has it, Mixer offered twice as much yet no official numbers were released.
Mixer entered the niche back in 2016. Since Microsoft didn’t have any previous experience in streaming esports, it gathered quite a small yet loyal audience. Today, no one may suggest that Mixer and Twitch are equally strong rivals. At the same time, YouTube streams gather a similar amount of view per month – around 20 million. For sure, hiring the most famous Fortnite streamer was a wise step.
As far as we know, Mixer has a few exclusive features to offer to their newcomers. One of its spectacular advances is a shared controller, which may be used by both streamer and his/her fans. Furthermore, all the Mixer chats imply sophisticated architecture and user-friendly design along with the multiple state-of-the-art functions.
On Thursday, Ninja posted a video on Twitter, which gathered almost a million views just in a few days. “I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but as of today, I will be streaming exclusively on Mixer,” said the former Twitch patron.
He looked excited and mentioned that such a change is a great chance to improve his career at the same time getting back to roots. Of course, the comments below the post were not all positive. Some of the fans believe that this deal will not bring Mixer as many views as they count on; for Ninja, they say, it might be the end of his blossoming career.
Twitch has also released a friendly statement about their prominent player. “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.”
Even though Ninja was bringing a million views regardless of the game he was playing, the platform is expected to stay on the same popularity level. We are still waiting for more data from the esports betting websites, which might introduce some completely new statistics in September. On the announcement day, more than 28 000 people subscribed to Ninja’s Mixer account meaning that he has all the chances to save his reputation in esports betting.
As it was already mentioned, Microsoft is following a risky strategy that might cost them a fortune. For instance, their further plans about launching Project xCloud next fall look quite ambitious. In case it works out, Mixer will beat YouTube in the number of viewers and eventually involved investors.
Finally, we cannot predict any of the future moves made by Blevis. Next year, he promised to release three books about video games. Apart from the numerous tutorials, he also announced a graphic novel and we can’t wait to write a review about it!
