American-Chinese streamer Sykkuno has made a grand return to Twitch after a two-year exclusive stint on YouTube. His sudden return home left the streaming community wondering why he left and if his relationship with YouTube is getting worse.
Sykkuno, renowned for his LoL-Streams and friendly community, built his empire on Twitch before being wooed away by YouTube with an exclusive contract. Now that the deal’s up, he’s back where it all started. The amount of money he was offered for his 2-year exclusive excursion to YouTube is not completely clear, but industry experts estimate the deal to be valued at $5-8m per year.
Some see this return as a smart move, since Twitch arguably remains the king of live-streaming with its unbeatable chat experience and discoverability. They point to other streamers like Valkyrae and Ludwig, who’ve successfully returned to the platform switch and come out on top. In his stream, Sykkuno welcomes his Twitch fans back and promises this just to be the beginning of a new era in his career.
There are others in the community who are being critical of YouTube’s handling of livestreams and raising concerns about streamers who prioritize money over loyalty. Platform hops can disrupt an audience and have already cost some streamers their career. Especially when a streamer sacrifices Twitch’s beloved chat for an increase in revenue.
Insiders say we might see more streamers embracing a multi-platform approach to maximize their reach and revenue. They argue that Sykkuno’s move is the beginning of the end of big platform exclusive deals. It just seems like the deals rarely work for neither the platform nor the communities.
And as platforms continue to evolve, we can expect to see more high-stakes moves towards multi-platform streaming.
