In an open letter published on Wednesday, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy outlined the livestreaming company’s plans for 2024, with a focus on helping streamers grow their audiences even when they aren’t live. This year, Twitch plans to overhaul its app for the first time in five years, ditching its long-standing design to focus on a […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Update, 1/31/23 at 1:15 PM ET: Pokimane has now confirmed she left Twitch to stream on YouTube. One of the most popular streamers on Twitch, Pokimane announced today that she is leaving the platform. It’s not yet clear if she’s retiring from content creation altogether, or if she’s moving from Twitch to another platform. “twitch […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Twitch is introducing a new tier to its premium revenue share program — currently known as the “Partner Plus Program” — that would grant a 60/40 revenue split and has lower qualification requirements than the existing tier, expanding access to smaller creators. The program, launching in May, will be open to both Affiliates and Partners […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Twitch is effectively banning the “topless meta” and other implied nudity streams with another update to its attire policy. Under the new policy, announced on Wednesday, streamers are no longer permitted to “imply or suggest that they are fully or partially nude,” and may not show a visible outline of their genitals, even if they’re […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

On stream, Filian took the stage at the center of a colossal arena, lit with violet spotlights and surrounded by crowds of fans holding lightsticks. The streamer opened the show dressed in a vivid purple skirt, magenta bow tie and high white boots that matched her jacket — a ritzy version of her avatar’s usual […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups. This is the first of a two-part series that we built for you going back over critical themes from 2023. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Days after freeing the (fictionalized) nipple, Twitch is backtracking on its “artistic nudity” policy that allowed streamers to show illustrated, animated or sculpted renderings of breasts, butts and genitals. The announcement comes days after Twitch announced sweeping updates to its sexual content policy, which streamlined the platform’s community guidelines and allowed nudity in certain contexts, […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Twitch announced sweeping updates to its sexual content policy and content classification system, which now allows previously prohibited content like illustrated nipples and “erotic dances,” in addition to clarifying what nudity is and isn’t allowed on the platform. The update follows the widespread “topless meta” backlash, after streamer and OnlyFans model Morgpie went viral for […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

This year at the Game Awards, the coveted Content Creator of the Year award went to Ironmouse, a fan-favorite VTuber. It marks the first time that an animated character has won the award, showing how expansive the streaming world can be. A movement originating in Japan, “VTuber” means “virtual YouTuber,” though the genre has spread […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more

Twitch plans to shut down its business in South Korea on February 27, it said, after finding that operating in one of the world’s largest esports markets is “prohibitively expensive.” In a blog post, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy said the firm undertook a “significant effort” to reduce the network costs to operate in Korea, but […] © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only ..read more