Twitch has introduced a new feature called Hype Chat, but one of the biggest German streamers, Marcel “MontanaBlack” Eris (35), wants nothing to do with it. He warns his viewers against spending money on it.
What is this feature? On June 22, 2023, Twitch introduced Hype Chat for partnered streamers. According to the streaming platform, this is supposed to be a way for viewers to stand out from the crowd of chatters.
Fans can send chat messages worth between $1 and $500, which are then pinned to the top of the chat. The more money spent, the longer the message is highlighted. A portion of the revenue from Hype Chat purchases goes to the content creators (via Twitch).
However, this is precisely the catch, as streamers like MontanaBlack see it as yet another way for Twitch to take a cut of the money that should rightfully belong to them. This is a very sensitive issue for some.
Streamer feels insufficiently supported by Twitch
What bothers MontanaBlack? In a Tweet on June 22, the streamer criticized that he did not want the feature and there was no way to disable it. MontanaBlack elaborated on his criticism in a stream.
The 35-year-old believes that Twitch is only interested in profiting from the content creators’ earnings. A large part of the financial support for streamers typically comes from third-party providers like StreamElements. However, Twitch gets nothing from that.
MontanaBlack has been frustrated with Twitch’s development for some time. He says:
- The platform does not provide adequate support for streamers during major events.
- Then Twitch would also give them 20% less money.
- Furthermore, Twitch has also introduced new guidelines and quickly backtracked after the criticism.
- Finally, he criticizes the Partner Plus Program, from which only 2% of streamers worldwide benefit.
With the new feature, even more money should be taken from streamers, so they would earn even less, MontanaBlack believes. It is an absolute disgrace.
“Whoever uses it is to blame themselves”
This is how MontanaBlack plans to boycott the feature: The Twitch streamer explains that he will simply not read messages highlighted through the Hype Chat feature, thereby not giving them the attention that fans actually pay for.
Subsequently, the 35-year-old also raises the minimum amount that fans have to spend to highlight their message to the highest possible amount of 100 €. “Whoever uses this now is to blame themselves,” says MontanaBlack.
A recording of the stream can be found on the YouTube channel of MontanaBlack, starting at 12:15 he talks about the new feature.
Despite his criticism, MontanaBlack will likely remain on Twitch for the time being. However, this has less to do with his loyalty to the platform and more with the fact that he does not want to jeopardize his good reputation by switching to the controversial competitor Kick. At least not for a few measly millions:
