Popular streamer xQc has publicly explained why fellow content creator Lacy received a smaller payout from Kick than expected: the platform’s anti-bot system detected artificial inflation of his viewer numbers.
According to xQc, Kick’s technology can differentiate between genuine viewers and bots. When the system flags suspicious traffic, those fake views don’t count toward payment calculations. This means Lacy was only compensated for real, verified viewer engagement.
“They don’t pay out on view count, they pay out on ads delivered. View bots don’t deliver a return on ads,” explained one industry insider familiar with how streaming platforms operate.
Viewbotting refers to using automated scripts or services to artificially inflate livestream viewer counts. While this practice can make a stream appear more popular and potentially attract real viewers, platforms actively work to detect and discount these fake numbers.
Lacy, known for his presence on Kick and popularity on TikTok, has sometimes caught people’s attention with his viewer numbers. Observers have noticed there’s a big difference between his high view counts and how slowly his chat moves compared to other streamers with similar audiences.
“I’ve stopped in Lacy’s stream to see what 30,000 people are watching, and his chat moves more slowly than some 500–1,000 viewer streamers,” noted one viewer who has frequented his broadcasts.
Kick, a newer livestreaming service competing with Twitch and YouTube, pays creators through a partner program based on metrics including average concurrent viewers, engagement data, and stream hours. Unlike its competitors, Kick doesn’t heavily rely on ad revenue but focuses on hourly averages and engagement, making accurate viewer counts crucial for fair compensation.
xQc, formerly a professional Overwatch player and now one of the most followed content creators across multiple platforms, clarified that this practice is standard in the industry. Platforms like Twitch and YouTube also refuse to pay for botted views and employ similar detection systems.
There was no direct accusation from xQc that Lacy himself orchestrated the viewbotting. He just said that Kick’s system identified a significant portion of Lacy’s viewership as artificial, which cut into his earnings.
This just goes to show how streaming platforms are stepping up their game to ensure the numbers—and engagement—are genuine. If you’re a creator, the takeaway here is simple: only genuine fan interaction leads to real payouts.
