Last year, Twitch streamer Nickmercs primarily played EA’s shooter Apex Legends and had 9.3 million viewer hours with an average of 13,616 viewers. That’s over now: The 33-year-old complains about the community and is switching back to Call of Duty: Warzone.
Who is he?
- Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff is one of the largest shooter streamers in the world on Twitch. His rise began in 2018 alongside Ninja in Fortnite, then he made a name for himself in Call of Duty.
- Nickmercs left Call of Duty in a dispute in 2023: Activision Blizzard removed his €20 skin from the shop, because Nickmercs made comments on Twitter regarding sex education in schools that some found difficult.
- But after nearly a year with Apex Legends, that’s also over.
Nickmercs believes the Apex Legends community “despises” him
What bothers him about Apex Legends? Nickmercs was active in the esports scene for Apex Legends, but his team “Tripods” disbanded on February 19. Nickmercs says two players lost their love for Apex Legends and wanted to do something else.
The 33-year-old has developed a personal problem with the Apex Legends community or they with him. He says: At the beginning, the Apex Legends community was okay. But over time, it got increasingly uncool. He uses the word “corny.” Many viewers would surely agree with him. This whole “motherfucking community” is really awful.
He says the community did not believe in him in Apex Legends and bet that the Tripods would not succeed. When the team actually missed the finals lobby to qualify for the pro league, he felt that the community “despised” him, and his time investment in the game simply wasn’t worth it.
What is he doing next? According to Nickmercs, he will not play Apex Legends for the foreseeable future, but he does not rule out a return at some point.
He is now focusing again on Call of Duty: Warzone. There, he also instantly has significantly more viewers on Twitch than with Apex Legends.
In June 2023, Nickmercs’ departure from CoD Warzone was a major topic:
