23/06/2020 Shroud has now tweeted about his future, and Ninja’s Twitch channel has had its About section updated.
With the shock news that Microsoft will be shutting down its streaming service Mixer and transferring all willing partnered streamers to Facebook Gaming, it’s two biggest stars appear to have gotten a much sweeter deal.
Reports from esports journalist and consultant Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau are suggesting that the two marquee streamers that helped put Mixer’s name on the map, Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins and Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek, have had their multi-million dollar contracts paid out by Mixer, meaning they are now free to stream wherever they want. Sources have told Slasher that despite spending less than a year streaming on the platform, Ninja and Shroud have now made £30 million and $10 million from Mixer, respectively. He shared this information in both a tweet and live on Hasan ‘HasanAbi’ Piker’s Twitch stream.
But with the opportunity to sign these two streaming juggernauts presenting itself, Facebook Gaming tried to entice the pair to its platform with contracts reportedly worth nearly double the value of their Mixer deals. However, the pair have turned that offer down, which paves the way, realistically, for only two options; a switch to YouTube gaming, where many successful YouTubers have carved out decent streaming careers for themselves; or a return to Twitch, where they both attracted enormous audiences before their moves to Mixer.
Following Mixer’s announcement, Ninja tweeted that he is keeping his Mixer fanbase in mind as he decides on where he will take his streaming career next.
“I love my community and what we built together on Mixer,” he says. “I have some decisions to make and will be thinking about you all as I make them.”
I love my community and what we built together on Mixer. I have some decisions to make and will be thinking about you all as I make them.
— Ninja (@Ninja) June 22, 2020
Shroud has also tweeted in a similar fashion to Ninja.
I appreciate the Mixer community and everything I’ve been able to do on the platform. I love you guys and am figuring out my next steps. 💙
— Michael Grzesiek (@shroud) June 22, 2020
Where the pair end up will now be hotly speculated. Both had enormous followings and viewership on Twitch which will be tempting to return to, plus Twitch is now in the business of offering individual exclusivity contracts to creators. But for Ninja especially, there’s a very real chance he won’t go back.
It has been stated previously that one of the main draws of moving to Mixer was to escape his toxic chat and the lack of freedom the platform offered him. While that freedom may now be easier to get since Twitch has started negotiating deals with its streamers, his bad experiences may still leave a sour taste.
On YouTube, Ninja already has an enormous community of people who watch his stream highlights, and they would certainly have the cash to offer him another big money deal.
Despite this, Ninja’s channel information on Twitch has been recently updated to: “Ninja streams Valorant and Fortnite.” Could this mean that he’s heading back to Twitch after all?
Whatever happens, it’s yet another enormous milestone moment in the timeline of the livestreaming industry.
