TheGamer - Streaming Features

Twitch Made Another Bad Tweet, This Time For AAPI Month

Tessa Kaur — Wed, 24 May 2023 15:00:16 GMT

Earlier today, Twitch sent a tweet that confused and annoyed Asians everywhere, in which it asked “If you could live a new adventure by being reincarnated as one of your favorite characters, who would you choose?”, complete with the hashtag AAPI and an image of nine different characters. They are, deservedly, getting roasted, with general disbelief that this was posted by an official account. In celebrating AAPI Month, Twitch has made it ever more apparent that it is run by out-of-touch white people.

Amouranth's New AI App Is Very Creepy

Tessa Kaur — Tue, 23 May 2023 16:45:15 GMT

Earlier this week, Forever Voices AI announced the addition of Kaitlin “Amouranth” Siragusa as an AI companion on its Forever Companion platform, an artificial intelligence ‘companion’ that is available 24/7 for fans. The self-proclaimed ‘global leaders in turning influencers into AIs’ have previously launched the first ‘influencer turned AI girlfriend’, and now the popular streamer will be available for ‘virtual dates’ and ‘profound discussions’ through the two-way voice app.

MrBeast Buying His Employees A Street To Live On Is Bad, Actually

Tessa Kaur — Wed, 10 May 2023 14:00:16 GMT

The New York Post reported this week that Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has been quietly buying up the houses in a cul-de-sac in Greenville, North Carolina, in the area he grew up in. Over the last five years, he purchased his own home, then bought up the rest of the houses that surrounded his. Three of them were not up for sale, and were purchased off-market for almost a million and a half dollars combined. He purchased these homes for his family and employees.

Kick Is Great For Creators, But Bad For Humanity

Tessa Kaur — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 16:30:15 GMT

As Kai Cenat, one of Twitch’s biggest creators, faces his fifth ban on the platform, increasing numbers of people are calling for him to join Kick. Kick is a rival streaming platform that has a reputation for being less strict on what creators can upload, though it has been cracking down on sexual content and hot tub streams. It isn’t nearly as big as Twitch, and has been accused of faking views with bots, but has still drawn in big streamers like Adin Ross, Dream, Destiny, and Trainwreck, who is a non-owner advisor for the platform.

The Thug Shaker Central Debacle Just Reinforces That Right-Wing Gamer Culture Has Devastating Consequences

Tessa Kaur — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:16:17 GMT

21-year-old Jack Teixeira was arrested by the FBI last week in the course of an investigation concerning the leak of classified military documents that spread on social media earlier in April 2023. He faces up to 15 years in prison for two counts of violating the Espionage Act. His crime? He posted photographs of printed, classified briefings on a small Discord server called Thug Shaker Central.

Let's All Laugh At Joe Rogan's Anti-Woke Comedy Club

Stacey Henley — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:30:14 GMT

There’s a new comedy club that confiscates your phone so you can’t film the comedians on stage, so that if the act goes badly, no one can humiliate them on the internet. They even scan guests' faces before they enter, ensuring anyone who’s out of line can be tracked down. Will this wokeness never end? Is this new wave of comedians so weak-willed and pathetic that even a stand up stage must be a safe space? Men used to be men! When did the world become so soft? Can nobody take a joke anymore?!

Xbox Game Pass And Amazon Luna Complete Each Other

Eric Switzer — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 20:49:34 GMT

I’m still mourning the loss of Google Stadia - not so much what it was, but what it could have eventually become. I still believe cloud gaming is the future, even if Google isn’t going to be the one that leads us there, and I’ve been spending some time trying out the other game streaming services to see how they stack up. Two of the best options right now are Game Pass and Amazon Luna, but neither of them quite lives up to the cloud gaming future Stadia once promised. Both are missing the exact qualities that the other has, and if they could somehow be combined, they’d make one pretty great streaming service.

Twitch Streamers' Hogwarts Legacy Ad Protests Are Fruitless Without The Biggest Stars

Issy van der Velde — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:30:14 GMT

Hogwarts Legacy reviews have just come in, and surprising no one, most have little caveats to show that people are aware of Harry Potter creator JK Rowling’s transphobic bile, but they’re not going to actually do anything about it. Simply not covering the game would be the right move, but most are giving into the hype and rose-tinted glasses of their childhoods rather than addressing the transphobic elephant in the room. Fortunately, Twitch streamers are, and some have started a boycott on the site due to an aggressive Hogwarts Legacy marketing campaign.

Summoning Salt's Videos Make Me Care About Games I Never Thought I Would

Issy van der Velde — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 15:58:27 GMT

There’s no YouTuber I have my channel notifications on for. I watched a lot when I was a teenager, sat in front of the family PC in the lounge, headphones on while my parents watched EastEnders and Coronation Street. Getting my first smartphone was revolutionary. I could finally watch YouTube videos in bed, as late as I wanted - as long as I pretended to be asleep any time my mum peeked her head in to make sure I wasn’t still awake. Still, no matter how much I loved the platform, I never saw it as anything more than a way to fill my spare time.

OTK Reinstates Streamer Mizkif Citing No "Direct Evidence" Of Involvement In Sexual Assault

Justin Reeve — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 23:17:43 GMT

The gaming organization known as One True King has reinstated the streamer Mizkif citing no “direct evidence” of his involvement in a recently alleged sexual assault. The accusations were made by streamer Trainwrecks in addition to the apparent victim, AdrianahLee. Mizkif will remain suspended from the board of directors, having been placed on probation. The streamer was previously accused of attempting to cover up a sexual assault against AdrianahLee by his friend and fellow streamer CrazySlick.

Streamers Are Sick Of Gaming, And There’s No Easy Answer

Stacey Henley — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 15:45:14 GMT

A tweet went viral yesterday that collected the responses of streamers HungryBox, Dr DisRespect, and Shroud to the state of modern gaming, all of which painted a grim picture. HungryBox laments that all games look the same now, Shroud wants a “solid shooter” game, and Doc just screams that he’s sick of nothing being fun. It paints a grim picture of the streaming scene, and the solutions are more complex than they seem.

Adin Ross, Who Just Learned What Fascism Is, Is Set To Interview Kanye West

Vaspaan Dastoor — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 08:49:04 GMT

Kanye West has been spiraling for a while now – be it his support for Donald Trump, his encyclopedia of unhinged Tweets, or various and increasingly dangerous Antisemetic comments. His actions have caused multiple major brands to drop him from any and every sponsorship deal. You'd think the consequences and the constant bad press would get him to stop, but he decided to make things worse by openly declaring himself a Nazi sympathizer.

Amouranth Never Led Anyone On

Stacey Henley — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 13:30:13 GMT

When it comes to abuse, society places an almost insurmountable burden of proof onto the victim. Over the weekend, Amouranth tearfully revealed that her husband had been systematically abusing her, and despite the impossible standards, she seemed to have incontrovertible proof. Recorded phone calls, screenshots, abusive text messages - the streamer had a lot of evidence. And still, it was not enough for some. Amouranth hits the trifecta for undeserved hate; she’s pretty, she’s a woman, and she’s a Twitch streamer. Even years of systematic abuse is clearly not enough to garner sympathy from the most toxic quarters.

The Cruel Reaction To Dream’s Face Reveal Highlights The Biggest Problem With Content Creators

Stacey Henley — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 14:30:13 GMT

YouTuber Dream recently revealed his face, and we work in an industry where this is front page news - or at least would be if we wrote our news in newspapers and not endless spoils of online content ready to demand your attention at any given moment. I had some vague knowledge of Dream - I knew we hadn’t seen his face, I knew his avatar was a smiley on a green background, and I knew he cheated at Minecraft. That’s about it. I don’t care that he revealed his face and, in a way, I suppose I’m slightly saddened that it’s news. But in the immediate aftermath, I feel compelled to go to bat for him.

Nickmercs Anti-Vax Answer To TwitchCon Sounds Like Worst Party Of All Time

Eric Switzer — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 22:22:09 GMT

After weeks of constant pressure from the community, Twitch has decided to reinstate mask and vaccine requirements for this October’s TwitchCon in San Diego. In a blog post update, Twitch wrote “We’ve been listening to all of your feedback and know that many of you–especially those who are immunocompromised and the people who support them–want stricter health measures in place to help you feel safe attending TwitchCon San Diego in person… we will require all attendees to provide proof of vaccination or proof of a negative covid test taken within 72 hours of attending the show.”

Are Corporate VTubers The Future Of Gaming Advertising?

Ben Sledge — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 19:00:13 GMT

VTubing is a trend on YouTube, Twitch, and other streaming services where, instead of having a customary face cam, streamers show an animated character that is mapped to their movements. Some follow arm and head movements, but the most expensive models even map facial expressions and track the streamer’s mouth as they talk. Many VTubers use their avatars as a roleplaying exercise as well as a cosplay, answering to their avatar’s name and interacting with viewers in-character.

xQc's Gambling Streams Are So Much Worse Than The Twitch Fart Meta

Stacey Henley — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 14:00:13 GMT

Last year, the fart meta was the talk of the Twitch town. As the name suggested, it involved streamers farting - often conventionally attractive female streamers in skin-tight clothing - for the pleasure of their viewers. However, the actual meta was quite a bit more varied than that. It also involved suggestive yoga, licking microphones, moaning breathily, writing subs' names on their skin, and wearing a Spider-Gwen lycra morph suit and a horse head mask while jumping up and down on the bed. One of those is fake, and it's definitely not the one you're thinking of. The fart meta was a spin-off from the hot tub meta - the former essentially brought softcore adult content on Twitch into the mainstream perception, and the latter used that as a springboard to help streamers gain popularity and notoriety with ever weirder, yet still erotically tilted, content. xQc was one of the loudest critics of these metas, but all the while was brewing up something that stank even worse: the gambling meta.

Pokemon Challenges Emerald Kaizo Interview

Issy van der Velde — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 17:00:13 GMT

“There’s a way to look at Pokemon as a game from a challenge running perspective that is extremely technical and analytic,” says Jan, a Twitch streamer who does hardcore Pokemon Nuzlockes under the name Pokemon Challenges. “[I approach things] not from a, ‘Oh this is so fun and random,’ perspective - which is what most people did. There was no one who was doing this. [I’m] someone who takes Nuzlocking extremely seriously - to a degree a speedrunner or a professional gamer takes their game seriously.”

Interview: How Jessica Blevins Turned Ninja Into A Professional Brand

Issy van der Velde — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 19:01:00 GMT

“Taking someone and just being like, ‘I could elevate you so much and I know I could take you from 50 to 100 if we put in the work together,’ that's what excites me.”

This Week In Streaming: xQc Conspiracies, TSpirit Wins The International, And A Genshin Impact Partner Program

Vaspaan Dastoor — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 17:30:13 GMT

You never know what you're going to get when it comes to streaming news. On any given day there could be Twitch drama, an esports team winning an esports thing, or something completely out of left field that nobody expects. Well this week we've got all of them and then some.

This Week In Streaming: Twitch Hacked, Amouranth Banned, And The US Navy Streaming Age Of Empires

Vaspaan Dastoor — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 15:44:26 GMT

The streaming gods have blessed us with a bountiful harvest as some major things went down this week, literally. I hope you've changed your Twitch passwords because a major hack resulted in loads of data being made public. In other news Amouranth was banned from the streaming platform and a number of others in a recent bout of drama.

This Week In Streaming: The International Refunds Tickets, Boost Your Favourite Streamers' Content, And Chaturbate Gets Into Gaming

Vaspaan Dastoor — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 16:09:51 GMT

It's Monday, you know what that means, a roundup of the biggest streaming news of the week. This week The International 2021 had to refund all audience tickets due to Covid restrictions, while Twitch enabled a way for you to support your favourite streamers. And Chaturbate is getting into gaming?

This Week In Streaming: Big Name Transfers, An Uruk-hai On The Run, And A Possible Resolution to Twitch's DMCA Takedown Issue

Vaspaan Dastoor — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 15:43:25 GMT

It’s never a dull week when it comes to streaming news. This week has seen some big-name esports signings, while other streamers have decided to take things outside. Perhaps most notably, it looks like music-related DMCA takedowns on Twitch might finally be behind us… Might.

This Week In Streaming: Twitch Not Paying As Much, Hate Raiders Getting Sued, And A Pokemon TCG Player Gets Disqualified Thanks To Their Mom

Vaspaan Dastoor — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 14:37:41 GMT

In our first ever weekly streaming roundup, TheGamer has all the biggest news from your favourite streamers, platforms, and other related things in one convenient place in case you missed it over the week. We’re hitting the highlights, and to kick things off we start with why so many big name steamers are moving to YouTube.

Twitch's Stream Display Ads Are Genius

Stacey Henley — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 16:00:11 GMT

Everyone hates adverts. You can’t turn on the television, get on a bus, walk through town, or go online without being pelted by the damn things. Sometimes, you’ll be eating food, and the packaging for that food will be advertising different food to you, either with discounts or flashy branding pointing you to a limited time item. Even right now, as you scroll through your favourite games website, you’re having to read ads. That last one is important, because those ads pay my salary. That’s true of most writers on the internet these days, although ads also pay the salaries - or at least a portion of the salaries - of many people working in online industries. Few of these, however, have as tumultuous a relationship with advertising as Twitch streamers, which is why the platform’s new advert initiative is such a breath of fresh air.

Twitch's New Spotify Plug-In Saves Streamers From Copyright DCMA Strikes

Stacey Henley — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 20:00:11 GMT

Few laws are applied as stringently as copyright laws. We live in a world of crossovers, franchises, multiverses, and Space Jam sequels, where just owning a property can see you set for life if said property is valuable enough. It’s why Disney has repeatedly pushed to change copyright laws to keep its characters out of the public domain, and why the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) is the bane of many a Twitch streamer. DMCA law is complicated, but for now, let’s keep it simple; it means you can’t play music you don’t own on Twitch. There’s a new solution for that problem, and it seems to be a pretty ingenious one, but exactly how sustainable is it?

Ninja Is Just The Latest Man To Follow The "Billy Graham Rule"

Bella Blondeau — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 03:38:03 GMT

Yesterday, Ninja found himself in another hotbed of controversy. In an interview with The New York Times, the popular children's entertainer doubled down on his staunch refusal to stream alone with women.

The PogChamp Emote Highlights Twitch's Toxicity Problem

Helen Ashcroft — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 16:17:16 GMT

So far 2021 has not been the fresh new start many were hoping for, and it seems nowhere is safe from the toxicity we've seen in the world over this past week. In the case of Twitch, the outpouring of hate speech began with a controversial statement by the face of the PogChamp emote. After Twitch tried to turn the situation into an opportunity to raise the profile of minority creators, the whole thing went south, fast.

How OnlyFans Benefits All Women Creators

Helen Ashcroft — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 20:53:51 GMT

OnlyFans is quickly gaining a reputation as a go-to platform for quality adult content from a wide range of users. While this may seem irrelevant to gaming, it's actually one of the best things to happen to content creators - especially those who identify as women.

Dr Disrespect Is At War With Forsen's Viewers

Andrew Penney — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 15:25:10 GMT

There has been a long-standing feud between Dr Disrespect and a sect of Forsen's viewers that continues to plague the mustached Twitch streamer. Lately, tension between The Doc and his chat have flared up yet again, but it is an incredibly confusing situation for those who don't know the history behind the conflict. Here is the low-down surrounding Dr Disrespect's awkward problem with handling visitors from Forsen's stream.

Chris Hansen Vs. Onision - Everything That's Happened So Far

Tanner Fox — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 20:14:41 GMT

Update: there's an upcoming docuseries on Onision coming to Discovery in 2021, starting on January 4th. More details here.

5 Games Shroud Dominates

Andrew Penney — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 16:30:37 GMT

Shroud is a rare breed; He is a streamer who constantly emphasizes his lack of interest in competitive play, preferring to "casually" stream a variety of games – yet somehow he continues to dominate the competition regardless of the game. Shroud's reputation is not exactly for his zany personality – he's actually as chill as a cucumber 99% of the time. Rather, he is known for his consistent ability to perform at a high level, specifically in FPS games. Here are 5 games that Shroud decided to casually dominate.

4 Times Alinity Became A Meme

Andrew Penney — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 15:30:07 GMT

Natalia Mogollon, better known as "Alinity" on Twitch, has achieved internet stardom through not only her content, but also via a series of unfortunate events. Becoming immortalized through memes isn't always a good thing, and unfortunately for Alinity, she has mainly been at the tail end of the internet's sense of humor. Here are 5 of Alinity's most meme'd moments.

2 Months Later, How Are Alinity's Pets Doing?

Andrew Penney — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 15:15:57 GMT

Due to a few viral clips coupled with today's trendy "outrage" culture, Alinity has become a household name for animal abuse on Twitch. The double standards of moderation practice on the streaming platform left Alinity in the hot seat when she tossed her cat over her shoulder and wasn't banned for it. Inconsistent treatment of smaller streamers have angered Twitch users, and Alinity received an extra helping of flak when she was caught mistreating one of her cats.

5 Times Amouranth Broke Twitch Rules

Andrew Penney — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 15:00:52 GMT

Kaitlyn "Amouranth" Siragusa, a streamer known for her risque cosplay, is no stranger to violating Twitch's guidelines, creating a reputation for her uncanny ability to land herself in hot water with the company. From wardrobe malfunctions to unauthorized streams, here is a list of 5 of the most memorable times Amouranth messed up on Twitch while live-streaming.

Where To Watch Tonight's Overwatch League Grand Finals

Patrick Sklar — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 16:43:13 GMT

The Overwatch League Grand Finals are tonight, folks - Sunday, September 29th, 2019. Here is everything you need in order to catch the big games.

What Should Be Done About Streamers Abusing Animals

Whitney Meers — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 15:25:25 GMT

Warning: This story contains multiple links to graphic content.

The Decline Of Streaming and Streamer Culture On Youtube

Ryan Epps — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 16:30:06 GMT

Over 13 years ago, the birth of YouTube had introduced the internet to an assortment of low-quality, homemade videos. Nowadays, the site is among the most wide-reaching and successful social media platforms on the internet, housing anywhere from breaking news stories to DIY crafting. The gaming atmosphere didn't penetrate YouTube's inner circle until the introduction of Blame Truth. All he did was upload videos of himself playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and added his voice over the footage, giving general direction on how best to play the game. Another well-known early gaming YouTuber was xcalizorz, who ignored the commentary aspect and decided instead to showcase himself playing 55 levels of the same game, calling it "Road to Commander." They may not have been the best videos (YouTube surely had worse at the time), but it opened up a new medium for gamer expressionism. A whole new frontier had been unearthed, a place for opinions to be digested, where tips could be explained in great detail and, most importantly, where gameplay could be shared and viewed in a collective environment.

Mixer Has A Better Interface Than Twitch

Eric Switzer — Sat, 03 Aug 2019 16:25:20 GMT

With Ninja's permanent departure from Twitch, Microsoft's Mixer is the hot new platform everyone is talking about. While Mixer has been around for years, dating back to 2016 when it was called Beam, it has remained in relative obscurity in the streaming space while Twitch and YouTube reigned supreme.

Livestream Platform War Begins As Twitch's Competitors Gain Traction

Helen Ashcroft — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 15:15:04 GMT

Until the last few months Twitch has often been regarded as the livestreaming king. While other platforms have begun to spring up over recent years, including Mixer, Caffeine and Dlive, as well as YouTube Gaming, it’s only recently that they’ve started to really build momentum.

#SlutStreamDay And Bias In Streaming Culture

Helen Ashcroft — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 16:50:32 GMT

While the number of female streamers is on the rise, many of them face harassment on a daily basis. All too often these women are shamed and abused by others, for everything from the way they game to the way they dress.