Twitch Might Be Dethroned By This Platform
Social media giant Facebook has been attempting to get a piece of the gaming pie for years now, mostly via Facebook Gaming. Of course, many creators and viewers have noted that Facebook Gaming has a shady side. Some of the common complaints against Facebook Gaming include its lack of the same streamer culture that Twitch has cultivated, and the unfortunate fact that its algorithms occasionally suppress stream. However, Facebook has instituted new subscriber policies that are turning heads, and streamers want in.
Facebook Gaming partnerships manager Josh Maresca tweeted, "We're doubling down on creators. Facebook has waived all revshare from subscriptions until 2023! Yeah, you read that correctly. You'll continue to receive 100% of your subscriptions when purchased on desktop." This means that streamers will be able to receive 100% of the money coming from their fans until 2023, as long as those subscriptions are paid for at a desktop device. Facebook did not offer any clarification on how it would handle subscriptions from mobile devices.
This news is a dream for gamers looking to make it big in the streaming world — and who are hoping to make money from the very beginning. Monetizing streaming can be incredibly difficult, and even big names in the streaming world often rely on sponsorships to help boost their income. However, many gamers felt suspicious of Facebook's announcement.
Streamers react to Facebook Gaming's announcement
MisterCloudz, a variety streamer on Twitch, had some choice words for Facebook Gaming, advising it to focus on fixing other things before jumping into a new monetary endeavor.
"Fix your platform first. Stop shadow banning your streamers and give them REAL support/service instead of auto bot responses that lead to nowhere," MisterCloudz tweeted. "No platform is perfect. But the issues in the FBGG platform [are] pushing away streamers to twitch." Many other streamers and viewers echoed Mister Cloudz's complaint, noting that Facebook's support for streamers isn't sufficient enough to compete with platforms like Twitch, which has experience plenty of customer service issues on its own.
Still, others supported Facebook's decision, marking it as a win for creators and streaming in general. StreamElements, a branding company for streamers, congratulated Facebook by saying, "we love seeing creators put first." Other Facebook Gaming creators, like JaredFPS and Bobby Solez, voiced their support of Facebook Gaming and noted that sharing more profits with creators is a huge win for the gaming community.
So will people begin to migrate from Twitch to Facebook? It's not unheard of for creators to jump platforms. In 2019, Disguised Toast moved to Facebook Gaming, though he still creates content for Twitch and YouTube. Before that, Ninja shocked the world by moving from Twitch to Mixer at the promise of more revenue and better opportunities.
The decision of where to stream is important for those who want to make a living playing video games for an audience. Facebook Gaming's mixed responses from its followers show that people may need a bit more time before they trust the social media giant.