In the last 2 years, YouTube has increased its offerings in live streaming in the area of “video games” and attracts top stars from the market leader Twitch with lucrative exclusive contracts. We at MeinMMO look at the 5 most important gaming streamers who made the leap from Twitch to YouTube. In most cases, they were convinced to switch platforms with a lot of money.
When did the trend start? In October 2019, a successful streamer, “dellor”, was banned from Twitch for pulling a keyboard over his head. When he got upset about the ban, the head of YouTube Gaming, Ryan Wyatt, appeared and invited dellor to stream on YouTube. Dellor switched and quickly became number 1 in YouTube’s then-minuscule live streaming section.
This made YouTube an overnight alternative to Twitch. Those who were banned from Twitch could find refuge at YouTube and continue. But it quickly became clear: Switching from Twitch to YouTube was financially worthwhile. Shortly after dellor, the first streamers voluntarily switched and signed lucrative exclusive contracts with YouTube Gaming.
Since then, Ryan Wyatt has been poaching streamers from Twitch. He lures them with multi-year contracts that – as rumored – pay streamers handsomely for their services. Although YouTube is a successful and important platform for “video on demand”, Wyatt is now working to enhance the live streaming offerings of the platform through acquisitions.
Number 5: Jack “CouRageJD” Dunlop
How successful was he on Twitch: CouRage became known as an employee and caster of a US league for Call of Duty before he worked as a full-time streamer. He made a name for himself as part of the “Fortnite” clique around Ninja. The blue-haired Twitch star regularly teamed up with 3 other Twitch streamers: Since Ninja had over 14 million followers on Twitch for the wedding, the viewership numbers of anyone streaming with Ninja skyrocketed.
In 2018, CouRage had an average of 6500 viewers, entertaining a total of 2.1 million followers.
How important was CouRage on Twitch: CouRage was more of a second-tier streamer who was still finding himself as a content creator. He was an entertainer focused on comedy and self-irony.
However, he was already well-connected with other streamers and often engaged in verbal battles with Ninja or DrDisrespect. CouRage was also one of the moderators for the Fortnite World Championship with his friend DrLupo. Additionally, he had contacts with the e-sports organization 100 Thieves.
Why did he switch? CouRageJD was the “first major streamer” to switch to YouTube. He announced his switch on November 5, 2019. Surely, money played a role, but in a statement, CouRageJD emphasized that he was tired of always chasing subscribers on Twitch. He felt like he was on a treadmill: As soon as he fell behind, he feared losing paying subscribers.
He hoped to achieve a quieter life from streaming on YouTube with the opportunity to try more. The platform switch also made sense as he already had a substantial presence on YouTube, which he would now continue to expand.
How successful is CouRage on YouTube: The career of “CouRageJD” has developed positively on YouTube. He now has 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube, significantly more than he had on Twitch at the time. His videos regularly achieve over 500,000 views.
CouRage is primarily a self-ironic streamer who frequently collaborates with other content creators. They tease each other, play pranks on one another, or enjoy each other’s misfortunes. CouRage is also a co-owner of the e-sports organization 100 Thieves.
It seems that the “video on demand” style suits CouRage better than live streaming on Twitch. With Call of Duty: Warzone, CouRage has also found a new game, following Fortnite, with which he is successful.
