Twitch Leaves Behind Creators In South Korea

Issue #192 | December 7, 2023

Twitch has a special place in my heart. I’m a big fan of cozy gamers playing anarcho-fantasy farming sims, of politicians playing “Among Us,” of witnessing insane speedruns, and of all the other light-hearted shenanigans on the platform. The Twitch community ranges from supportive to toxic (Twitch streamers are fairly notorious for their middle-school-level drama). But when the community gives, it gives. There’s something irreplaceable about it all: the historical emotes, the fan-driven environments, the global community, the competitive spirit of gaming.

“Twitch,” like all major social platforms, has become such a social staple that sometimes I forget it’s a company, with stockholders and executives to appease. And its creators, alongside all its formal employees, are the laborers keeping it afloat — the ones who will suffer the consequences when things go south, things shut down, and layoffs arrive.

That’s why it’s so devastating to hear the news from Twitch this week. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy announced yesterday that on Feb. 27, 2024, the platform would cease operations in South Korea — arguably, the esports capital of the world, with over half of South Korea’s population considering themselves esports fans. Korea’s esports market is projected to reach $274.4 million this year, but it’s not enough. According to Clancy, with no net neutrality and high network costs in the country, Twitch has been running at a significant loss in the region. (Read Passionfruit contributor Charlotte Colombo’s dispatch on the news to learn more about why this is happening).

THE COMMENTS SECTION

“My career, everything that I’ve made … Everything will be gone.”
— Korean streamer @twitch_yummy_2.

Creators’ faith in Twitch suffers with each passing controversy — when it cut its revenue-sharing plans with top creators, when it proposed and then revoked new policies around brand deals, when it lost many top streamers to Kick and Rumble due to its simulcasting and revenue sharing policies. It’s done some things to address these issues (lifting simulcasting restrictions, for example). But it’s had so many issues that CEO Clancy has had to drive around in a van to try to win over some of the big creators in the U.S. who have left the platform.

Still, despite all these issues, many creators are loyal to Twitch. Their income is tied to the platform. Now, in a matter of months, those creators in Korea have to try to pack up and move somewhere else, find a new job. Their livelihoods, their careers, everything is suddenly gone. It’s a brutal reminder that, at the end of the day, social platforms are not just all about community, fun, and games — social platforms are companies that determine the income of thousands of people.

And unfortunately, unlike many workers, Twitch creators aren’t getting severance.

– Grace Stanley, Features and Newsletter Editor

PLATFORMS

The Esports Capital of the World Is Dead, and It’s All Because of Twitch

‘Ultimately, the cost to operate Twitch in Korea is prohibitively expensive.’

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

→ READ THE FULL STORY

IN THE BIZ

Bluesky responded to user concerns by postponing its public web interface launch and introducing an opt-out feature for enhanced privacy control.
The New Mexico Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of allowing Facebook and Instagram to become platforms where predators target children, citing investigations that revealed exposure to inappropriate content and interactions with predators on decoy minor profiles.
A judge dismissed Indiana’s lawsuit accusing TikTok of child safety law violations and deceptive practices, citing lack of evidence and clear disclosure of data sharing with ByteDance.
After last week’s Spotify Wrapped reveals, Reddit released their annual Reddit Recaps while TikTok put out its Year on TikTok 2023.