Ninja’s Real Reason for Leaving Twitch
It’s been a little over two months since Ninja left Twitch for Mixer and rumors have run rampant over his reasoning for leaving the platform that built him up ranging from declining income to wanting to be under less stress to get subscribers.
Now, however, details have started to emerge as Ninja’s wife and manager Jess has gone on record explaining the decision and why they felt it was for the best.
Why Ninja Left Twitch: The Decision
According to Jess, “Money was the last thing on our mind,” when they made the decision, noting the major problem was Twitch itself.
In an interview with Business Insider, she remarked how Ninja had left platform following issues with their contract and a feeling of being ignored, noting,
“Everything we were asking, it never came back reflecting our wishes, and that’s completely outside of finances. For us, two people who were streaming on Twitch, it was really upsetting for us to go months and months and keep reiterating that we love you guys, we’ve been here for a long time, but the things that are in the contract right now just don’t make sense.”
Diving into what had gone wrong, Jess discussed how their new contract with Twitch had a clause that would have inhibited deals Ninja had set-up with sponsors and prevented him from expanding his brand outside of gaming, a backward step in the mammoth business empire he’s built for himself.
She also noted how Ninja’s mood and attitude had taken a turn for the worse over the past several months, with the major problem being the toxicity of his Twitch chat and the pressure he had on himself to constantly push his stream every day.
Given the decline in viewership he’d been seeing since early spring, the stress was only multiplied and made worse.
This was the point that Microsoft entered the picture and offered them the deal to become exclusive on their streaming platform, Mixer, getting them a very beneficial deal and getting the whole move set-up in just a matter of weeks.
Jess mentioned how Microsoft has continued to provide and support Ninja beyond the move, even flying him out to test out games that won’t be available for another year (likely referencing the new Halo), and had listened to his feedback on how to improve the platform, something Twitch had never done.
She also noted that there were more exciting and large announcements ahead, including cameos in several TV shows and movies, and some involvement with the Super Bowl in February.
It’s clear the move has been going well for Ninja, despite his massive subscriber drop-off that’s coming once the free subscription trial runs out, and we couldn’t be happier for the monumental streamer. After these new details on his reasoning have come to light, it’s doubtful many will question why NInja left Twitch at the end of the day.
The interview should also serve as a wake-up call for Twitch, as their stubbornness and refusal to listen is clearly costing them big-name streamers.
If they want to continue to stay on top, they’re going to need to really open dialogue with their community.
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