With just a few days left to go until the official end of Mixer, it remains to be seen which streaming platform Tyler “Ninja” Blevins will end up signing with next. As one of the biggest names in streaming, Ninja seems to have his pick of the litter. According to esports reporter Adam Stern, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook are all very interested in locking him down into his next contract. As of this writing, it does not seem that Ninja has made a decision just yet, and an exclusive deal might not be reached until the end of the summer.
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Of the three options, Facebook might be the least likely. When Microsoft first announced an end to Mixer, the company planned to transition the majority of its talent to Facebook. According to reports at the time, Ninja was offered a significant contract to sign with the company, but declined. That does not necessarily mean that Facebook is out of the running; Ninja could have been interested in hearing other offers, first.
Over the last few days, fans have speculated that Ninja might be planning a jump to YouTube. The streamer seemed to accidentally make a test stream public on the platform, but took it down after images of the test went viral. Yesterday, Ninja also participated in a Fortnite stream on YouTube with several other notable streamers. Following both of these events, YouTube seems to be the most likely candidate.
The hunt to sign @Ninja is a three-horse race between @YouTubeGaming, @Twitch and @FacebookGaming, and a deal should be wrapped up by end of summer, per sources.
➖ @Slasher first reported that Blevins has not yet signed an exclusive deal despite yesterday’s YouTube stream. pic.twitter.com/gfRpj4DFRG
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 9, 2020
No matter where Ninja ends up, it should have a significant impact on the esports and streaming community! Ninja has spent the last decade cultivating a large and faithful fanbase. Wherever he goes, those viewers will likely follow, and it seems that all the big players know that. According to earlier reports, Ninja was paid $30 million by Mixer, so it seems that the companies will have to dig deep in order to sign him.
Do you think Ninja is planning to sign with YouTube? Where do you want to see the streamer end up? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
