In 2018, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was the most successful streamer on Twitch with Fortnite. Over the year, the ambitious shooter streamer averaged over 77,000 viewers. After a stint on Mixer, Ninja is back on Twitch but has significantly fewer viewers than during his peak. In an interview, he says the times of the past are over. Twitch has changed. As a “pure gamer,” one can no longer shine on Twitch as before. But he is not unhappy.
How have Ninja’s numbers developed?
- In 2018, Ninja averaged 77,719 viewers. He was on air for 3013 hours – averaging more than 8 hours daily, even on weekends and holidays. As a peak, he had 617,767 concurrent viewers; that record lasted a long time. At that time, he also set a record for the most subscriptions; that record has since been broken.
- In the last 6 months of 2021, Ninja averaged 9,297 viewers. He was on air for 606 hours – averaging about 3.7 hours per day. At maximum, he reached 41,003 viewers.
- If we calculate that, Ninja lost about 88% of his average viewers. However, with 17.04 million followers, he still has the channel on Twitch with by far the most followers.
“No one stays on top forever”
This is what Ninja says about this downfall: In an interview with the Washington Post, Ninja says:
“No one stays on top forever, especially in live streaming, there’s always someone new and hot. I have no intention of being that guy anymore. I know I can’t pull in 100,000 viewers on Twitch anymore. I don’t have the time for that. I have a wife. I have a family.”
Ninja
Ninja sometimes seems to feel unfairly judged because fans evaluate him only by the viewer count, which is clearly visible in the stream. But today he has a different focus: he is active on platforms like YouTube or is organizing a UNO World Championship with Venus Williams. He is no longer a pure Twitch streamer like in 2018.
Are there also benefits? According to Ninja, the biggest advantage is that he is now significantly freer about which game he plays when he streams. He says he no longer has to compulsively play Fortnite, the game that made him famous. He only plays the online shooter today when he feels like it.
In 2021, he can play whatever he wants, which has no impact on his deals and is incredibly relaxing.
“Back when streaming wasn’t mainstream” everyone just played
How does 2018 differ from 2021? Ninja says, “back when streaming wasn’t mainstream,” there wasn’t much one could do besides streaming. That’s why he put in those countless hours, but that simply burns people out. Streaming for 365 days straight, without attending events or going out – that is simply crazy.
Although he was away for only a few years, a different generation of streamers now reigns over Twitch. People like Ludwig, Hasan Abi, or xQc not only play, but also constantly interact with the community:
“These amazing young creators like TommyInit, Ludwig, xQc, Hasan – some of them aren’t even gamers. A few of them just make ‘IRL’ content and explode. It’s awesome.”
Ninja
For himself, Ninja does not see that role:
“Literally, that’s the reason why I’m a bit stuck, or the reason why I’m right where I am: I love gaming and will always love it. I don’t want to be a reaction streamer who sits around for 8 hours watching videos. I turn on my stream and I’m immediately in the game. The stream goes live, the intro is over, and I’m in the queue for a game. I play. That’s all I want to do.”
Ninja
Twitch is broadening and often reflects on itself – Ninja doesn’t fit in this era
What’s behind it: Ninja describes a shift on Twitch. The content of today’s biggest streamer, xQc, revolves much less around a single game than Ninja’s content did in the past. Blevins simply played Fortnite back then, every day, over and over.
xQc and other popular streamers also engage with gaming, but not exclusively. The focus has broadened, as streamers discuss all sorts of things circulating online as videos: politics, social issues, or funny animal videos.
Above all, streamers like xQc also discuss on a meta-level what is going on with Twitch itself. They spend hours discussing why streamer Valkyrae is entering into a deal with a cosmetics company that sells blue light protection, or talk about how Trainwreck got into a conflict with EA over gambling.
Again and again, they engage with the chat.
This is a development that some old Twitch-fans do not appreciate, but is becoming increasingly popular. Even Ludwig, one of the most successful “new streamers,” recently warned that the “reaction streams” are going too far, and soon everyone will be reacting without creating substantial content to react to.
Ninja too strongly associated with one game, Fortnite
However, the extreme decline in Ninja’s viewer numbers cannot solely be attributed to Twitch changing. Because the streamer shroud reaches nearly the same viewer numbers in 2021 as in 2018 – and he was away longer, is actually a pure gaming streamer, and according to Ninja’s theory, doesn’t fit into today’s era.
Ninja’s loss of viewers is certainly also due to the fact that he became absolutely associated with Fortnite and with the waning interest in Fortnite, the interest in Ninja also declined. Streamers like shroud, on the other hand, have never made themselves so dependent on a game. Even WoW addict Asmongold has managed to move away from being a pure “WoW” streamer – Ninja apparently has never succeeded in that form.
In any case, Ninja has been handsomely compensated for his time on Mixer, and although he is overly ambitious and the loss of his relevance surely weighs on him, he seems to come to terms with his new role that he is no longer at the pulse of the Twitch zeitgeist.
In contrast to Ninja, another streamer from 2018 has managed to re-establish himself on Twitch:
The 10 most successful gaming streamers in 2021 on Twitch – The Return of the King
