The Brime Conspiracy Theory Explained

A lot has happened to shake up the streaming world lately. Microsoft announced out of the blue that it would be shutting down its Mixer streaming service, and would be partnering with Facebook Gaming instead. Meanwhile, Twitch seems to be cracking down hard on big-name streamers that had previously gotten passes for violating its Terms of Service.

Now a conspiracy theory is tying together Ninja and Shroud's decision not to transfer to Facebook Gaming, Dr Disrespect's recent ban from Twitch, and an upcoming streaming service called Brime⁠. Drama Alert's Keemstar tweeted about it on June 28, showing his 2.8 million followers a 4Chan post that offered explanations for how everything supposedly connects.

According to this post, which is anonymous and completely unsourced, Ninja, Shroud, and Dr. Disrespect were all in talks for a new streaming service. It's then claimed inaccurately that Google owns Spotify, and that Spotify will soon announce a new streaming service. The post goes on to state that Dr Disrespect's Twitch ban was the result of Twitch finding out about his plan to jump ship, and the reason nobody can talk about it is because of non-disclosure agreements with Google. Finally, the 4Chan post concludes that Twitch is trying to bury Google in lawsuits in order to hamper the launch of its new service.

While the original anonymous post doesn't name supposed this new service, Keemstar connected it to a service called Brime. His evidence? Two screenshots: one suggesting Dr Disrespect would be announcing something today, and another indicating Brime would be answering questions today, as well. Keemstar seemed to imply that Dr Disrespect's upcoming announcement and Brime's promise to answer questions would be related. Keemstar also showed that Brime was following Ninja, Shroud, and Dr Disrespect on Twitter.

To start, it must be reiterated that Spotify is an independent company and is not owned by Google. Google wouldn't be issuing NDAs regarding a Spotify service, and Twitch wouldn't be trying to drag Google through lawsuits over it.

Secondly, there is no evidence to suggest that Brime is owned by or affiliated with Spotify or Google in any way.

Third, as Forbes wrote, the idea that Brime would shell out the money to secure some of the biggest names in streaming but not register its own domain name is laughable. Brime claims that it's only a code name and not the final name of the service, but it's still pretty fishy.

Finally, as Brime itself pointed out, following some people on Twitter doesn't mean anything. While an NDA could mean that Brime can't confirm it has Ninja and the others on board, you wouldn't expect the company to actively discourage the rumor if it were true. Unless some new evidence comes out to explain these discrepancies, the entire theory is pretty implausible.

It seems pretty clear that Brime — or whatever the streaming service's final name will be — isn't what Keemstar claims it is. So what is it?

Reading through some of the many questions that Brime's been asked since Keemstar's post, it seems Brime is nothing more than an independent passion project that's been dragged into something much bigger. Brime says that it only has four people working on it, and that it had planned to start small and grow from there. Signing three superstars before even launching the service would definitely not be "starting small." 

However, while it seems to be completely untrue, Keemstar's post may have been an enormous blessing for Brime. As of writing this article, Brime's Twitter account is hovering around 73,000 followers, which is an incredible number for a four-person project that hasn't even launched yet. Many people are expressing interest in Brime and are trying to get in on the ground floor. The attention it got from being at the heart of a conspiracy theory involving some of the biggest streamers and corporations in the world has launched Brime far beyond anything its founders expected.

Brime is now doing its best to keep up with the flood of attention and questions. If the launch goes smoothly, this once-tiny indie project could have the biggest leg up in streaming history. More on this story as it develops.