A panel discusses YouTube's venture into game streaming called "YouTube Gaming" on the second day of ... [+]
A streak of Twitch streamers switching platforms continues, as Ludwig Ahgren announced he will be streaming exclusively on YouTube Gaming, beginning November 30.
Ludwig is one of the most popular creators on the Twitch platform, amassing 3.1M followers. Earlier this year, he kicked off a 31-day stream to drive subscriptions, where he beat the all-time subscription record previously set by Richard “Ninja” Blevins. At his peak, Ludwig had 283,066 active subscribers on Twitch.
But Ludwig is no stranger to YouTube. While he live-streamed on Twitch, he has created regular videos on YouTube for years and has 2.09M subscribers. Now, Ludwig subscribers will be able to receive his regular videos, as well as his live streams, in one feed.
Twitch has long been the dominant kingdom of live-streaming stars. But now, YouTube is implementing the right mix of creator-friendly tools and the promise of audience consolidation to usurp live-streaming market share from Twitch.
Even though YouTube Gaming has worked to snatch away some of the most popular live-stream stars from Twitch, Amazon’s live-streaming platform still accounts for 70.5% of all live-stream hours watched in Q3 2021, according to insights from Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet.
A picture taken at the Tokyo Game Show on September 21, 2018, shows the logo of the VOD and ... [+]
Metrics also show that Facebook Gaming was the only platform to increase in hours watched in Q3, accounting for 15.7% of total hours watched. YouTube Gaming represents 13.8% of total hours watched.
In an interview with the Washington Post in September, Ryan Wyatt, YouTube’s Global Head of Gaming, claimed that while he did not consider YouTube as a direct competitor to Twitch, it does give popular content creators an opportunity to do more than just live-stream video.
However, for more high-profile live-streamers, jumping ship from Twitch means big bucks. A multi-year exclusivity deal signed in August with Ben "DrLupo" Lupo was reportedly worth millions. YouTube has been able to poach Lupo, as well as Tim “TimTheTatMan” Betar, Jack “CouRage” Dunlop and Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, among others, from Twitch.
In response to the competition, Twitch has also signed exclusivity deals with some streamers, including Jaryd “Summit1G” Lazar and Brett “Dakotaz” Hoffman, among others. However, a Washington Post report from September claimed that Twitch gave Lupo a lowball offer when compared to a previous deal offered by the streamer. Twitch has played defense in trying to stop defecting content creators since the launch of the now-defunct, Microsoft-owned live-streaming platform Mixer.
It is likely not the last deal YouTube Gaming will make with a creator. In a tweet about the Ludwig deal, Wyatt wrote, “Our focus is building a world class VOD, short form, and live platform. And I have to reiterate; we still aren't done yet! Welcome to the family, Ludwig!”
