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Mixing Things Up: YouTube Gaming’s Strong Statement in the Streaming Wars Still Might Not Be Enough
Publish Date: September 2, 2021
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YouTube saw an opportunity and took it.
After losing out on the Michael Grzesiek and Tyler Blevins sweepstakes following the collapse of Mixer, it seemed as if the video sharing site was once again falling behind Twitch as a destination streaming platform. Yet just this week, the platform reintroduced themselves as a key combatant, stealing away Tim Betar and Ben Lupo — better knnown as TimTheTatMan and Dr Lupo.
The Lull in the Streaming Wars
YouTube Gaming hasn’t necessarily been a platform looking to buy away talent. They signed two members of 100 Thieves’ content team — Jack Dunlop and Rachell Hofstetter — in late 2019, early 2020. And while Hofstetter blossomed into one of the biggest internet names in 2020 and Dunlop has found his own success, these weren’t necessarily major acquisitions.
They were names known within the community but they were ‘developing’ prospects. Technically, their biggest acquisition isn’t signed to an exclusivity contract. Guy Beahm — the man behind the character of Dr Disrespect — moved to the YouTube Gaming platform after being banned from Twitch for unknown reasons.
YouTube’s investments into talent was nothing compared to the level of investment Mixer made. Dumping a massive amount of money on the table to pull in top streaming names in an effort to draw new viewers didn’t really work out for them. Despite offering a decent user experience, a similar chatting experience that was being offered by Twitch, fans simply were not staying for other creators.
When Microsoft announced they were shutting down Mixer in June of 2020, it came out of nowhere but wasn’t really a surprise. Twitch remained relatively untouched while YouTube continued to work on their product.
YouTube’s patience during this period protected them. Not only were they not “going all-in” while unprepared, they were cementing their status as Twitch’s biggest competition.