Twitch Walks Back Controversial New Policy After Backlash

Twitch has walked back a controversial policy that sparked a ton of backlash from its users. Twitch is one of the biggest websites out there thanks to how much content it produces on a daily basis. Thousands of people gather to stream their favorite games, watch videos/movies with others, or host elaborate productions like gameshows while millions of people watch along. Although Twitch is the dominant streaming platform, it has inspired rivals like Kick which aim to offer a more fair revenue split with its content creators and attempts to be less restrictive with its rules as to allow for more freedom in the content produced. Kick has managed to lure some major streamers over with its big promises and it may be looking very lucrative to others after a recent controversy.

Twitch made new changes to how streamers can display branded/sponsored content in their streams, which is a big portion of their revenue and is a lot more consistent/guaranteed since they can make these deals with the companies directly. Twitch aimed to impose serious restrictions on how streamers can promote this content, such as not allowing branded banners on the screen to take up more than 3% of the screen and other weird limitations. This would threaten a significant portion of big creators' income so naturally, they didn't take it well. Creators like Asmongold threatened to leave Twitch if this happened and others voiced anger. Twitch has since walked back these changes, apologizing for how it worded its new policies and noted that it plans to make changes to address the feedback that has been given.

What is allowed is:

- Channel Page Panel ads.
- Products in the background of your stream.
- Links in chat.
- Discussing/unboxing products
- Playing sponsored games. pic.twitter.com/PVO4EkahIw

— Zach Bussey (@zachbussey) June 6, 2023

We do not intend to limit streamers’ ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors, and we understand that this is an important part of how streamers earn revenue.

— Twitch (@Twitch) June 6, 2023

Ultimately, Twitch is continuing to make poor choice after poor choice. It's starting to seriously impact the image of the site, especially with some of its biggest creators. It can't really afford to keep making these mistakes, especially as rivals are looking to steal talent and make Twitch more obsolete. It's unclear how long Twitch will go on for without making serious changes, but we may be witnessing a turning point in how streaming sites operate.

What do you think of Twitch? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.