In a matter of days,Elden Ringhas become one of the most popular games seen on various streaming platforms. Given the sheer depth of the in-game content, as well as the intense difficulty that put FromSoftware on the map, for a number of streamers,Elden Ringcan certainly pull in massive amounts of viewers. Although, FromSoftware recently implemented a change in its guidelines that stifles the financial success of Japanese streamers.
Several Japanese industries possess rather stringent policies when it comes to the fair use of a copyrighted work. As a result, many content creators across various different platforms have been hit hard in terms of sharing their work online. Take for example, the controversy surroundinganime YouTubers, with animation studios copyright striking numerous videos, occasionally in the hundreds. While FromSoftware’s change in policy might not affect streamers to that degree, it still creates difficulty as far as making money goes.
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Over on Twitter, Yuu Asakawa, a Japanese Twitch streamer and voice actor, best known for her work in theFate/Stay Nightseries, voiced her complaints on FromSoftware’s newest policy that prevents Twitch viewers to donate money toElden Ringstreamers. The problem is that there’s no way for Asakawa to turn off donations, resulting in only being able to streamElden Ringvia YouTube.
It’s possible thatFromSoftwareimplemented this policy, because the studio didn’t like the idea of streamers making money off ofElden Ring,but that rule never applied to previous FromSoftware titles likeDark Souls. Either way, it’s rather frustrating that it only effects Japanese streamers. It’s likely that Japanese copyright laws can’t impact other regions of the world, but there have been examples of Japanese studios coming down hard on content creators of all nationalities.
Back whenPersona 5first released overseas, Atlus implemented extremely harsh rules on streamers and content creators. At the time, the studio’s intention was to prevent content creators from spoiling the story, but considering how much in-game content there is inPersona 5, it’s unlikely that streamers or online personalities would have managed to do so within the first several days of the game’s release.
In any case, it will be interesting to see if this donation ban for JapaneseElden Ringstreamers persists for an extended period of time. What’s curious is how this ban seems to be a first for FromSoftware, considering how similarly high anticipated games, such asDark Souls 3andSekiro: Shadows Die Twice, didn’t receive any donation bans on Twitch.
Elden Ringis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
