The Real Reason Pokimane Is Quitting Twitch

Pokimane has become a staple in the streaming industry, broadcasting directly into viewers' homes for nearly a full decade. She opened her Twitch account back in Summer 2013 and has barely rested in the time since. Now, Pokimane and Twitch have both signaled the end of an era, informing fans that she's planning to leave her beloved platform behind. Over on X (formerly Twitter), the streamer shared an image of the Twitch app (complete with her image as a marquee star of the platform). The caption reads, "the end of an era ... Twitch has been my home for a decade ... but it's time to say thank you for all the memories and love during my League, Fortnite, & Among Us days."

the end of an era

twitch has been my home for a decade..

but it's time to say thank you for all the memories and love during my League, Fortnite, & Among us days 💜 pic.twitter.com/S8FMp6G3I8

— pokimane (@pokimanelol) January 30, 2024

Though she stopped just short of explaining what she meant by this, many of Pokimane's followers immediately began to fear the worst. Since she made the post, people have flocked to the replies to ask questions about her plans for the future. Fellow streamer Sydeon asked what Pokimane meant by this, to which Poki replied, "many tears on my end is what it means." Other commenters expressed a mix of nervousness and frustration over the lack of answers. 

Twitch added to the momentous occasion by replying to Pokimane's post with sincere gratitude: "What an incredible journey it's been. We're so proud of everything you've accomplished and what's ahead in the future.You'll always have a home on Twitch, Poki." Pokimane responded by saying that this was only going to make her feel even more emotional. Needless to say, Pokimane's fans began freaking out, wondering if she was just leaving Twitch or streaming altogether. Thankfully, she cleared up some of the ensuing rumors in the latest episode of her podcast.

What an incredible journey it's been. We're so proud of everything you've accomplished and what's ahead in the future.

You'll always have a home on Twitch, Poki 💜

— Twitch (@Twitch) January 30, 2024

In the latest episode of "Don't Tell Anyone with Pokimane," the content creator explained that streamer contracts have historically required partners to stream for a certain amount of hours to fulfill their contractual obligations. Depending on the amount of streaming a particular creator has to do, Pokimane has found that streamers tend to fall into a trap of "prioritizing hours streamed versus how good the content that you're streaming actually is." She added, "I have seen with certain streamers [that] it leads to almost becoming ... lazy with their content ... because hey, I just need to stream 100 hours a month." Pokimane admitted that she has fallen into this headspace in the past, simply trying to make up the hours she's required to stream. From her perspective, the constant hustle and resulting burnout can have an effect on a streamer's audience, as well. "I think when your audience sees that you're not as excited about what you're doing, that makes them a lot less excited too," Pokimane said. 

On top of that, Pokimane argued that the general vibe on Twitch has become much more toxic and turbulent in recent years. From unclear reasons for suspensions to sudden and dramatic changes to its terms of service, Pokimane feels that Twitch has become much harder to navigate. These issues ultimately led to a fear of losing herself in trying to chase subscriptions in the new landscape: "The only way I can grow my viewership on Twitch is by streaming more or appealing to people that I might not want to appeal to."

To avoid burnout, Pokimane has ventured into other realms of content creation, from YouTube vlogs to the "Don't Tell Anyone" podcast. Around the same time, Pokimane explained, general audiences began to see that Twitch is not profitings from its big streamer deals. "Four years into doing exclusive deals and spending millions on retaining content creators, they've decided to pivot to basically not doing any deals at all that are lucrative, at least," Pokimane revealed. In other words, Twitch exclusivity contracts may be a thing of the past, at least when it comes to the huge payouts of the past. The above reasons all contributed to Pokimane's decision to forgo re-signing with Twitch.

So what's next? Pokimane's first order of business will be to move on from her "toxic relationship" with Twitch streaming and the day-to-day grind of being signed to the platform. "I feel like it's just time for me to explore new avenues," she says. To this end, she has revealed to fans, "For the first time ever, [I'll] stream on YouTube, stream on TikTok, stream on Instagram ... Can you believe that I've never been able to do that anymore?"

At the end of the day, Pokimane explained that she's very grateful for her years on Twitch, but she's excited to spread her wings. In order to do that, she has to say goodbye to her former streaming home. Curious fans who want to know more about her time with Twitch and the issues she experienced on the platform will also want to keep their eyes peeled for upcoming episodes of her podcast.