Former Overwatch pro Félix “xQc” Lengyel has long been #1 on Twitch. In a stream he now revealed the secret behind his success: He knows exactly what people want and that is easy entertainment while gambling.
What is reaction content? Reactions, in which streamers watch a video with its viewers and add their two cents, are a popular format on Twitch. This is great for streamers because they can easily eat and earn money on the side.
But the format is controversial: streamers are accused of enriching themselves with the content of others, while the original creators get nothing. The debate is currently being rekindled after Félix “xQc” Lengyel, one of the largest streamers in the world, was accused of stealing content.
However, the Twitch streamer justifies himself and says: He only gives his viewers what they want.
From Overwatch Pro to #1 on Twitch to $100M – Who is xQc?
More videos
Content creators put work into content, streamers benefit
What is the current situation? At the end of July 2023, xQc and his Twitch colleague HasanAbi came under criticism after reacting to a video by Swedish YouTuber Lemmino. On July 25, he published an elaborate documentary on the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy.
Critics noted that the YouTuber’s video only garnered around 100,000 views, while xQc’s reaction garnered three times as much. The streamer contributed very little to the content, while Lemmino did all the work researching and compiling the video.
Meanwhile, the original video has far outpaced the reactions of the major streamers with 4.3 million views (as of July 30, 2023).
However, xQc felt compelled to present his point of view. Because he sees things a little differently and commented on the allegations in a stream.
xQc makes “shit content” for the second screen
What does xQc say about his reactions? The streamer doesn’t feel like they’re contributing too little to the original content. On the contrary: he paused the video “like crazy” and made his own comments. However, that is not what his viewers would want from him.
xQc claims his chat was downright angry at him for chatting so much in between. He even got a private message telling him to shut up.
According to xQc, this is what viewers want: The streamer explains that viewers are primarily concerned with being showered on the second screen while they gamble: 95% of streams are actually “shit content” and only 5% are worth watching on the main screen to become.
xQc says he only gives his viewers what they want. If he commented too much, they would be more likely to get bored and angry. The streamer would only say a little more about it if he was very interested in a topic.
xQc also makes it clear that not much money can be made with the reactions. He’d love to give back “every penny” he makes from “full reaction streams” to the original creators. He doesn’t care at all.
The German Twitch streamer Trymacs found out that reactions can also backfire when he received an unexpected dig:
Twitch streamer Trymacs wants to have fun at the expense of others – but suddenly it’s about himself