On June 6, Twitch unexpectedly announced new regulations for sponsored content on the platform. This did not sit well with many streamers who saw their sponsor deals at risk. After heavy criticism, Twitch quickly backtracked that same evening, stating that they may have expressed themselves incorrectly.
What are these new rules? On June 6, Twitch published new guidelines for sponsored content. With these guidelines, streamers would be prohibited from including “burned-in” ads in the form of videos, banners, or audio advertisements directly in their streams.
Moreover, logos displayed should only occupy a maximum of 3% of the screen space. The reactions from streamers were predominantly negative; they viewed the changes as an attack on their deals with advertising partners.
Some suspected that Twitch wanted to push its unpopular reward program for ads in order to cash in. The platform responded to the criticism and apologized for the “confusion and frustration.”
MMORPG clique around Asmongold threatened to leave Twitch
How did the situation develop? The changes became known on the evening of June 6 our time and spread quickly via Twitter and Reddit. Numerous content creators expressed their displeasure, including larger streamers.
Asmongold, who has criticized Twitch regarding advertising in the past, even called for a boycott. Alternatively, he suggested that streamers consider switching to another platform, he wrote via Twitter.
One True King (OTK), Asmongold’s streaming organization, took exactly this path and threatened to leave the platform if the changes went through. In a tweet by co-founder Tips Out, he calls the new regulations a direct attack on their business and their work.
Mizkif, another co-founder of the organization, stated that they would likely move to YouTube or one of the newer platforms Rumble or Kick.
He also made a grim forecast for future events on Twitch: they would simply become too expensive without ad placements and could no longer take place. As a consequence, he advised all streamers to leave the platform.
All just a misunderstanding?
What does Twitch say? In a post that Twitch published via Twitter on June 6, it states that the changes were too broadly defined. This led to confusion and frustration, for which they want to apologize. The beginning of the thread has been embedded here:
What does Twitch actually say is behind the changes? Twitch explains that they did not intend to restrict direct partnerships between streamers and sponsors with the changes. Rather, the goal of the new regulations was third parties selling directly integrated ads.
Apparently, Twitch expressed itself clumsily in formulating the new guidelines, so the explanation goes. They will rewrite the rules to make them clearer.
However, many users do not accept this explanation from the platform: it had all seemed quite clear, they even illustrated the changes specifically. Some fear that although Twitch is backtracking due to negative reactions, it will still implement the changes – just phrased more nicely (via Twitter).
Asmongold himself is streaming again on his second account Zackrawrr after a brief return to his main channel. Although in the past, he had flirted with how much money he would cost Twitch by going live on his non-monetized channel, this time it is not a protest against the platform:
