Valkyrae Confirms What Fans Suspected About Her YouTube Future
Just about anyone can start streaming on Twitch or YouTube, but big streamers are typically offered contracts which pay them generously for their exclusivity and the guarantee that they will stream a certain number of hours per week. The length and terms of these contracts vary from streamer to streamer, but none of them last forever. When a contract expires, it opens up the chance to renegotiate, granting the streamer the opportunity to field offers from competing platforms. DrLupo and TimTheTatman both switched from Twitch to YouTube when their contracts expired, while NickMercs was offered the biggest contract of his life to stay with team purple.
Whenever a streamer's contract nears its end, fans suddenly feel the tension surrounding the next move. Fans wonder if they'll still be able to watch their favorite streamers on their platform of choice, or if they'll have to venture out into unfamiliar territory. Many streamers have attempted to capitalize on this tension by producing grand reveal videos where they announce what platform they will be streaming on for the foreseeable future. Valkyrae's contract with YouTube had just come to a close when she posted her own announcement video, which she shared on Twitter – only hers was a little bit different than some of her peers.
Valkrae is staying with YouTube
The video begins with Rae getting out of a red car, presumably representing the end of her contract with YouTube, and entering a film studio. There are red and purple lights on the wall, red and purple outfits on a clothing rack and Rae is immediately offered the choice between a red and purple wig. It seems that everything in this studio is designed to maximize the tension of Rae's choice between the two major streaming platforms. Then a studio worker offers her a blue mug, which Rae slams to the ground, firmly saying "no," in what seems to be a not-so-subtle jab at Facebook Gaming. After that, a purple ball hits Rae in the back of the head, knocking her face into a red cake. This may have been a reference to Disguised Toast's announcement, which parodied a gender reveal cake.
The scene cuts to Rae in a makeup room, wiping off red frosting with a purple towel while another studio worker talks about more elaborate reveal methods. Valkyrae cut her off saying, "No, I'm just staying on YouTube." The studio worker asks if she was sure she didn't want to explode a car or something (referencing Ludwig's reveal video), but Rae reaffirms that she's good staying with YouTube without all the theatrics.
There are plenty of Easter eggs in this ultra-meta reveal video for fans to enjoy, but most will probably just be happy to hear that she's staying on the platform where her fans already watch her content.