For $100 million, Twitch streamer xQc switches to rival Kick. This is causing huge waves. According to Kick, the news of the switch alone resulted in 50 times more traffic than usual and a million new sign-ups in 24 hours. The servers crashed.
This was the news:
- The biggest Twitch streamer switches to Kick. xQc signs a non-exclusive 2-year contract worth $100 million. Allegedly, Kick pays $35 million per year fixed – another $30 million is tied to xQc achieving certain goals.
- The news caused huge waves. Almost all major streamers commented on the switch.
- The news hit Kick itself hard – it impacted the servers.
Commitment brings Kick 50 times more traffic – servers crash
This was the effect on Kick: As the platform Kick announced, the news of xQc’s commitment caused a massive increase in traffic. Compared to the normal level, the traffic was now 50 times higher. The servers couldn’t handle it, and the site crashed.
The commitment reportedly brought 1 million new sign-ups, Kick later stated. But this is just the beginning.
xQc earns more money than top athlete LeBron James – how is that possible?
How do websites comment on the deal? The site Forbes writes:
Kick is not trying to make a splash in the pond; they’ve thrown a hydrogen bomb in.
The deal with xQc is even bigger than what Microsoft paid for Ninja and Shroud in 2019 – reportedly $20 to $30 million. Mixer shut down in 2020.
Forbes says that xQc earns more money than basketball superstar LeBron James, who signed for 2 years with the Los Angeles Lakers and receives “only” $97.1 million. And LeBron James is one of the most famous athletes in the world.
However, questions remain about how Kick can finance this. Forbes quotes the CEO of Kick, stating they operate at a loss – like many startups. Nevertheless, they ask skeptically why Kick can spend so much money while Twitch has to cut costs and Mixer even shut down:
There’s a theory that enough gambling money is floating around to finance Kick for a while […] It’s surprising to see Twitch constantly cutting costs to even be profitable and Microsoft shutting down its streaming service – what exactly are the long-term prospects for Kick?
The site Kotaku emphasizes that it is unclear whether Kick is profitable or how they intend to make money.
But even Kotaku admits that Kick has succeeded in capitalizing on the frustration with Twitch, which is now monetizing more aggressively. Kotaku refers to Kick as a “gambling” site.
How are streamers reacting? Among those who view Twitch critically, there is much applause for the commitment:
- DrDisrespect wrote: “Hot shottish @xQc” – something like “Hot action” – DrDisrespect was permanently banned from Twitch.
- Ninja wrote: “Congrats, brother. You’re making history.” – Ninja has criticized Twitch ever since they banned multi-streaming, even for those without a partnership with Twitch. Ninja had specifically ended his partnership with Twitch so that he could stream simultaneously on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook.
- Asmongold sent Kick a “Hey” tweet after the switch, seeming to say, “Make me an offer too.”.
- Kick ambassador Trainwreck had already announced in March that he would instill “massive fright” in Twitch and its followers with “6 commitments”, if we put it kindly.
In any case, the commitment of xQc and especially the enormous sum has now caused a stir. Kick has apparently succeeded where Mixer failed in 2019. They have established themselves as a serious competitor to Twitch in one fell swoop. Especially since the service is quite a copy of Twitch.
However, the aftertaste remains that the commitments are financed with money that players have lost in the online casino that streamers like xQc are now advertising.
Streamer Amouranth has already followed xQc. Perhaps there will indeed be more big announcements, as Trainwreck promises:
