Twitch is in trouble. After the departure of the big US streamers xQc and Amouranth, things are also shaking in this country: The biggest streamers in Europe are two Spaniards who have grown explosively over the years: They are now looking towards YouTube.
Who are the 3 biggest streamers in Europe? Seen over the year, in the last 365 days, there are two Spaniards and one German:
The biggest streamers in Europe no longer want to be streamers, but YouTubers
Where are the streamers going now? Auronplay has now stated that while he has signed a new exclusive deal with Twitch, it will be his last.
The Catalan is now staying on Twitch for another year but will definitely switch to YouTube and stop streaming on July 1, 2024. He will then go back to making classic videos, like in his early years (via 3dJuegos).
Ibai has also announced that it will “gradually” withdraw from streaming and start doing more on YouTube again. He says it’s possible to create high-quality videos there that you can’t do live.
European stars can only be seen on Twitch for half as long as their US competitors
Are they full-time streamers now? It is actually striking that Ibai and Auronplay stream “relatively little” compared to the competition from the USA.
The biggest US streamers have all been on the air for more than 2000 hours in the last 365 days:
The two Spaniards, on the other hand, were only on the air for half as long, but in front of significantly more viewers
So there is a distinctly different trend here.
This is behind it: In 2019 there was already such a wave that people left Twitch and went back to YouTube. There was the reason: You have to be online all the time on Twitch in order not to lose any followers. It feels exhausting and like work. One spoke of a hamster wheel.
After years of explosive growth, Spanish streamers also seem to have had enough of “live” and would rather return to the regular work of a YouTuber who is not always live but uploads videos when they are finished.
It could also be related to the fact that Twitch has been under constant criticism in recent months and is making it harder for the big streamers to earn the money on the platform that they used to get.
Twitch removes special financial treatment for the biggest streamers – “I am extremely sad and disappointed”