In a surprising decision that likely left her Tier 3 subs devastated, the streamer Pokimane made the announcement on January 30th that she would be departing from the livestreaming platform Twitch. Pokimane currently has a massive 9.3 million followers on Twitch and has been one of the most successful female streamers on the platform, raking in millions of dollars ever since she began livestreaming in 2013.
Taking to X to share the news, Pokimane issued a farewell to her fans and critics alike:
“the end of an era. twitch has been my home for a decade.. but it’s time to say thank you for all the memories and love during my League, Fortnite, & Among us days 💜”
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This prompted a reply from the official Twitch account on X, confirming that this was indeed a parting of ways. “What an incredible journey it’s been. We’re so proud of everything you’ve accomplished and what’s ahead in the future.”
Depite being often criticized for her lazy reaction content and dehumanizing attitude towards her “simps,” it would still seem strange for Pokimane to abandon livestreaming altogether. While she didn’t state that she was leaving the platform entirely, every indication was that she had plans to move on to greener pastures, as there had been a steady decline in the time that she has spent livestreaming over the past year.
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Users on X took no time in spreading rumors that she’d be joining Twitch rival Kick, despite her previous statements that she would never take a deal from them due to “her morals.” This, as well as an increase in time spent promoting herself on TikTok, pointed to the likelihood of Pokimane rebranding herself into a social media “influencer.”
This would not be without some irony, as she has heavily criticized the platform for promoting “toxic obsessions with appearance,” something she herself could easily be criticized for as well. Pokimane has become rich and famous largely because of her looks, something that less fortunate women can’t fall back on when talent or creativity is lacking.
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In a surprising twist, it has now been confirmed that Pokimane will begin live streaming on YouTube. Pokimane has issued a statement blasting Twitch as a “messy platform,” undoubtedly referencing their controversial flip-flopping on their artistic nudity policy, as well as their recent statement from CEO Dan Clancy confirming that Twitch has been losing money year after year.
Pokimane has not existed online this last decade without causing more than her fair share of controversy. Just last year, she was struck with a 48 ban on Twitch for streaming the anime Avatar: The Last Airbender to an audience of 25,000 viewers. She also launched a “snack line,” charging exorbitant prices for what were essentially $4 bags of cookies that you could purchase at your local Costco.
Whether it has been her willingness to throw out the occasional “N-word” or insulting her fans for “being broke,” she has had many regrettable moments, not least of which were text messages between her and fellow streamer Fedmyster getting leaked. She has also issued false DMCA takedowns and even gone to the extent of trying to hide the existence of her boyfriend so as not to chase away the most dedicated simps.
Despite all this, she has amassed a huge following that will undoubtedly flock to whatever platform she plans to migrate to next. She has stated that she has no plans to sign a long-term contract, so it will be interesting to see how well she fairs on a platform like YouTube.
What do you think of Pokimane leaving Twitch? Where do you think she’ll end up? Let us know below!
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ItsaGundam must be so Excited to hear about this!!
I believe he’s livestreaming about it as we speak!
She didn’t sign a deal so my guess is if she needs the money she takes the Kick deal if they can actually afford it she also said she’s not done with Twitch so she’s probably using multiple platforms to stream moving forward not sure if that means more money? She’d look stupid if she went to Kick after all the shit said and she looks stupid now since she praised Twitch not long ago over YouTube and TikTok.