Last month, we were hit with the shocking news that Microsoft’s streaming platform andTwitchrivalMixer was being shut down, putting a large number of streamers effectively out of business, among them beingFortnitestreamer Ninja.
Granted, given Ninja’s fame and success, he was bound to find a new platform to stream on eventually, and it looked likethat platform would be YouTube, with his latest stream seeming to indicate that it would serve as his new home.
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It turns out, however, that Ninja hasn’t technically signed on with YouTube yet. According to esports insider Rod Breslau, it was purely Ninja’s decision to stream there and he could very well stream onTwitch, where he originally started before moving to Mixer, sometime soon.
Does this mean that Ninja will be a completely free agent from now on and stream wherever he wants? Not necessarily, as it has been reported that both YouTube and Twitch, as well as Facebook Gaming (which Mixer was merged into), are competing to try and get Ninja to stream exclusively on their respective platforms.
Ninja’s YouTube stream drew in massive numbers, so it’s more than likely that his success will continue no matter where he goes. YouTube would certainly benefit greatly from an exclusivity deal like this to help compete with Twitch’s line-up of big-name streamers.
However, Twitch has recently taken a blow with its decision toban Dr. Disrespect, arguably one of its biggest streamers, so reclaiming Ninja would be a well-needed boon for it.
As forFacegook Gaming, Ninja could have automatically transitioned there after Mixer shut down, but he turned that down, which meant Mixer had to buy him out of his contract. Given his initial refusal, it seems unlikely that he’ll end up signing on with Facebook, unless the platform offers him a particularly sweet deal.
According to the report, a deal should be reached by the end of summer, so we’ll only need to wait a month or so until we find out which platform Ninja will choose, if he chooses one at all.
Meanwhile, Mixer’s other prominent streamer Shroud is a free agent as well, having also refused to move to Facebook. Much like Ninja, he has a gargantuan fanbase on bothTwitchand YouTube, meaning he’s got a few avenues to pursue as well, but there’s currently no information on what he plans to do.
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