Twitch Adds Channel Points for Streamers
The Twitch and Mixer war has heated up for months after Mixer took Ninja and Shroud away from the platform.
With most of the shots coming from Mixer so far in these “stream wars,” Twitch finally fired back, though not by signing a Mixer streamer to their platform. Instead, the streaming juggernaut released a new currency system called Channel Points.
What Is Twitch Channel Points?
It’s a direct competitor for Mixer’s main draw Sparks, currency acquired by watching streams, following streamers and participating in raids amongst other methods.
While Twitch Channel Points don’t generate income as Sparks does, it does allow streamers to gift their long-term viewers. Benefits include unlocking exclusive emotes and highlighting their messages in the chat, amongst other limited features.
The ability to convert points spent on their channel into revenue could come in the future, given how similar the two systems are already. However, no official announcement confirmed it yet.
A Deep Wound to Mixer
Mixer doesn’t have much going for it over Twitch. The Twitch Prime system gives free game content and subscriptions for streamers each month and a more established ecosystem for streams.
Sparks was their most significant draw since it provided an easy way for viewers to contribute towards a streamer’s income without having to pay anything.
It also offers benefits such as creating teams and playing special interactive games.
Streamers have long requested the feature. Seeing Twitch come up with an identical product takes away from Mixer differentiating itself from the competition and could spell trouble in the long-term.
The site has long struggled to bring viewers and users over to its platform. It could see a further slowdown, especially if Twitch Channel Points converts to income.
We’ll have to wait and see if Microsoft has an answer for Twitch’s move, but dark times could be coming for Mixer soon if they can’t.
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