WoW is currently experiencing a huge upswing on Twitch, and at the center is MMORPG streamer Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris (29) with his hardcore guild “OnlyFangs”. However, the 29-year-old does not want to share the reach he has gained so easily.
What kind of guild is this? MMORPG veteran Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris founded the streamer guild “OnlyFangs” in WoW Classic, uniting some of Twitch’s biggest names, including Pokimane and temporarily xQc, who was long regarded as the biggest streamer in the world.
As you might expect from a guild full of colorful personalities who are all used to being the main characters of their own shows, drama was not long in coming. xQc was already kicked out of the guild a few days ago. Sodapoppin even seemed positively surprised that they had managed to avoid a major clash for so long.
However, it seems that tensions are now running high, prompting the guild leader to make a strong statement during a recent stream: no reactions from non-guild members to the upcoming raid.
Yes, this also applies to the great Asmongold
What does the guild leader say? In his stream on November 26, Sodapoppin announced a ban for his Twitch colleagues against restreaming or reacting to his guild’s highly anticipated hardcore raid.
The streaming veteran feels that content creators would rather react to the raid than participate themselves, siphoning off reach without any personal investment. He even mentioned two of his colleagues by name: “Yes, Asmongold is not allowed to react. No, not allowed. xQc, you are not in the guild, well, you will not watch the raid either.”
How does he plan to enforce the ban? Sodapoppin seems to rely on the fact that his word is law: “How will I prevent it? I mean, by saying ‘no’.” If they do it anyway, the streamer says it would be “pretty messed up.” After all, he is giving the warning in advance.
xQc can watch the raid afterward when everything is over, Sodapoppin said. So the ban apparently only applies while the raid is still ongoing.
WoW is currently huge on Twitch, also thanks to Sodapoppin
Why is this so important to him? The Twitch streamer is bothered that some of his colleagues prefer to focus on reactions rather than contributing to the guild themselves. Therefore, the ban specifically targets streamers who are not members themselves: “You will not benefit from this guild to which you contribute nothing.”
Unrest may also have to do with the fact that WoW is currently the biggest game on Twitch – only the chatting category “Just Chatting” has more viewers (via sullygnome). Sodapoppin and his guild members are among the most watched streamers in the game.
It is quite possible that the streamer does not want others to benefit from this reach without playing themselves.
Although this is a very special case, Sodapoppin’s announcement reflects the dissatisfaction that has long existed against so-called reaction streamers. Many content creators complain that they are merely using the content of others while contributing little themselves.
Especially with xQc, this is a point of contention that has already earned the streamer a rather unflattering parody.
