The streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek is back on the streaming platform Twitch after a long absence and plans to be live there 6 days a week for 8 hours a day. He chose Twitch because he was “born and raised” there and because it is the platform that aligns with his big plans. He is planning something in gaming that should bring him 500,000 viewers.
These were shroud’s options for the streaming platform: After the end of Mixer shroud was a “free agent” and could choose the platform where he would stream in the future. His contract was exclusively tied to Mixer. Once the platform was dissolved, he was free:
- Actually, Microsoft had intended for Mixer streamers to switch to Facebook. But shroud opted against this option, even though it would surely have been highly lucrative. Rumor has it that Facebook offered him even more than Mixer and he allegedly already cashed in 10 million US dollars for only 10 months of work
- Another option would surely have been YouTube, which is currently expanding its live streaming and has signed a star like PewDiePie exclusively
- However, shroud decided on an exclusive contract with Twitch. In a first stream, over 500,000 people watched him.
shroud has gaming plans that he can only realize on Twitch
That’s why shroud chose Twitch: He says Twitch is simply the best platform. This is completely obvious to him. He was born and raised on Twitch from the very beginning.
But Twitch also has a simple advantage: it is the largest platform and exclusively for gaming. And shroud has big plans for gaming.
Although he cannot reveal what he is planning right now. But he hopes that when he implements this plan and presents it on his channel, he could again reach over 500,000 viewers, just like during his comeback.
This is how often shroud will stream again: shroud said in the stream that he plans to be live about 6 days a week and aims for about 8 hours a day.
The workload that summit1g manages every week with daily streams of up to 10 hours is something shroud can no longer accomplish. The guy is a “grinder,” shroud says appreciatively. He can’t do that. If he were to stream that much, he would surely be grumpy and in a bad mood.
He has only just raided in WoW for about 8 hours on 2 consecutive days. That was really tough.
shroud enjoys playing WoW “in his free time” but that is not very well accepted on his channel. In 2019, shroud even skipped his job on Twitch, to be able to play WoW Classic in peace, without viewers.
Is shroud maybe planning big tournaments on Twitch?
Here’s what it’s about: The alternative platforms to Twitch are YouTube and Facebook. They are huge, but have a different focus than livestreaming for video games.
shroud’s companions are planning things that move away from gaming:
- Dr Disrespect wants to open a production company and is working on a own TV series about himself
- Ninja is focusing on marketing, merchandise, and wants to act in movies
For shroud, who relies on his gaming skills, it would be a logical option to host big tournaments with high prize money through Twitch, marketed and monetized through advertising deals.
The tournaments by Keemstar in the shooter sector have shown the great potential this idea has. The tournaments for Fortnite and CoD Warzones often achieve huge viewership across all platforms, but Keemstar is a controversial figure and not exactly what you would call “brandsafe.”
shroud could host shooter tournaments with a strong partner. That would surely work best on Twitch.
But these are still speculations. shroud has not yet hinted at what his big plan is that should bring him 500,000 viewers to his channel.
In fact, summit1g is one of the hardest working streamers on Twitch overall. But at the moment he has fewer viewers than at his peak. Because summit1g is actually – like shroud – known for his skills in shooters like CS:GO, but privately he enjoys playing MMORPGs, just like shroud. However, it’s not going quite as smoothly there:
Top streamer plays MMORPG ESO for 210 hours on Twitch but fails
