Asmongold is one of the most successful streamers on Twitch, especially in the MMORPG genre and is currently leading in WoW. Yesterday, he was banned from World of Warcraft for 30 days, but just a few hours later he was able to log back into the MMORPG. Blizzard lifted his ban. The discussion surrounding the ban shows how much “regular players” are disturbed by this special treatment.
How big is Asmongold on Twitch?
- It is a strange situation, as Asmongold is “actually” one of the biggest streamers on Twitch with an average of 54,000 viewers (2021) and was often the largest streamer on the platform during months when new MMORPGs were released, several times.
- However, he is currently not streaming on his main channel “Asmongold” with 3.3 million followers – but on a secondary channel “Zackrawrr”, with which he only reaches about 10,500 viewers on average.
- Asmongold has increasingly retreated to his secondary channel because the hustle and bustle around his main channel became too much for him, and he felt overwhelmed by the situation,as his private life was shaken by crises.
Twitch streamer Asmongold is constantly present over YouTube
Why does he seem so present? Asmongold’s actual reach comes through the YouTube platform: “Editors” cut parts from his Twitch clips and publish easily consumable bites as “Video on Demand” on YouTube. Previously, people did this without his consent, since 2019 Asmongold earns from these videos.
Especially “Asmongold reacts to” videos are popular: Asmongold watches editorial videos from others and comments on them. This is a way for large YouTubers to achieve maximum profit with minimal effort.
Even Asmongold fans sometimes find it too much Asmongold on YouTube (via reddit):
Through YouTube, Asmongold is omnipresent: Daily, videos appear on his own channels where he reacts to current topics and comments on them. Furthermore, there are fan channels that also successfully create videos about him by cutting Twitch clips.
If you are generally interested in MMORPGs, the YouTube algorithm quickly gives the impression that Asmongold is omnipresent. Because he has a polarizing style and appearance, people often talk about him very emotionally: People love or hate him.
Players believe: If they were in Asmongold’s position, they would have been banned for 30 days
This is what the ban showed: Blizzard banned Asmongold on 16.08 for “Real Money Trading” for 30 days. He immediately proclaimed his innocence.
However, just a few hours later, the ban was lifted: Asmongold had his account back.
In comments on YouTube and gaming sites, this special treatment of Asmongold is criticized. Players believe: If they had been banned, they would have had to serve the 30 days. But someone like Asmongold just has to call out loudly and Blizzard looks back at the case and unbans him.
On YouTube it is said:
- “Imagine you get banned unjustly and have no millions of viewers.”
- “The problem is: Unfortunately, this could happen to any player, and not all of us are big streamers, thus our chances of being unbanned in such a situation are simply nonexistent.”
- “A streamer gets unbanned almost immediately. A normal player who has been playing WoW for 15 years and has never bought gold or participated in any boosting is just screwed.”
On MeinMMO, user MathError says:
I am 100% sure that any normal player would never have been unbanned as quickly as Asmongold for the “same false reason”: Someone at Blizzard probably read: “Asmongold” – Let’s take another look at this, and “Tada – unbanned.” Every other player would have likely remained banned until September 30.
MeinMMO reader MathError
Thus, many WoW players feel that Blizzard applies double standards and treats streamers better.
What’s behind this: Anyone who has ever been banned in a game knows the feeling of “powerlessness” because often they only receive form letters in response, without detailed justification.
A “ban” is a nightmare for any MMORPG player, as it means losing the result of months or even years of invested time. For some hardcore players, it feels like they have lost their home.
That a Twitch streamer like Asmongold, who is already controversial, can extricate himself from this situation within hours seems unfair.
The problem that companies first ban and then take a closer look is also known from Twitch. Twitch frequently reverses bans on large streamers when enough people complain about the ban:
The ban policy of Twitch is becoming increasingly ridiculous
