The streamer “JapImport” experienced a rise on Twitch in 2023: He found a game he enjoyed, “Slay the Spire”, and began to achieve some success. So he eagerly applied for a partnership with Twitch, but then came the rude awakening: Twitch permanently banned him on Friday, the 13th.
This is the story of the streamer:
- The US streamer “JapImport” discovered Twitch in the summer of 2022. He showcases “Slay the Spire”, a game regarded as great that scored 89% on Metacritic, but is quite niche.
- Over the course of a year, JapImport experienced steady growth. He gradually increased his viewership from just 4 to around 80 viewers. He is now the number 10 among Twitch streamers for “Slay the Spire”. Number 1 is actually the German Lifecoach, who was once a big name in Hearthstone.
- So JaoImport took a leap of faith and wrote to Twitch expressing his desire to become a partner: This is the way to earn some money with Twitch.
Twitch permanently bans streamer on Friday the 13th.
That was his rude awakening: The streamer made the mistake of applying at the wrong time and received notification from Twitch on Friday, October 13th, that his account was permanently banned for using an “inappropriate username”.
Somehow, Twitch seemed to think that his chosen name “JapImport” was in some way racist.
He was told that his offense in choosing that name was so serious that it could not simply be changed. He could only create a new account: He wrote that no one had ever cared about his name before, and now he faced the Insta-ban
without any warning.
Streamer finds Twitch just cruel
This is how the streamer reacted: He was completely distressed, as he had not expected this at all.
He says he feels it is “cruel” to have to start over. If Twitch tells him to create a new account, why can’t he just change his name?
He had heard horror stories about Twitch, but this was the pinnacle. He couldn’t even write to anyone.
Other streamers help the unlucky one – Twitch apologizes
This is how it turned out: Some Twitch streamers for “Slay the Spire” changed their language to Japanese to support him. Additionally, a larger streamer stepped in to support him.
On October 14th, the message from Twitch came: The ban had been lifted. Twitch had made a mistake.
Nevertheless, the streamer became so anxious that he quickly changed his name to “JapaneseExpert”. He is still not a partner.
This is what’s behind it: This is a pattern that repeats itself at Twitch: As a “simple streamer”, one simply cannot reach anyone at the US company and gets ignored. It seems incredibly important to “know someone at Twitch” who can advocate for you. Without personal connections, it seems that no one answers the phone or responds to any emails.
However, when either the public or a larger streamer steps in, things often start to move.
We have repeatedly reported on MeinMMO about bizarre bans on Twitch that were only lifted after public pressure.
The ban policy of Twitch is becoming increasingly ridiculous
