Mixer is closing down, invites streamers to move to Facebook Gaming
Following an ex-employee's reports of racism this past weekend, Mixer has announced it is closing down operations and inviting its streamers to move to Facebook Gaming.
Well, it looks like Mixer's time has finally come to an end. Today the streaming service announced that it is closing down operations and inviting its partnerned streamers to move to Facebook Gaming.
The announcement comes via a blog post and a tweet on the official Mixer Twitter. Of course, those who have been watching social media this weekend are probably already aware of all the info that has come out around Mixer, streaming personalities, and more this past weekend. It's truly been a weekend of revelations and Mixer found it's place in the spotlight when an ex-employee detailed their expereince as a Black employee at the streaming company.
Mixer: The Black Experience
— Milly 🌩 #BlackLivesMatter (@MilanKLee) June 21, 2020
Read: https://t.co/p4Q5jTiS2G
Of course, Mixer isn't outright admitting that this is the reason for the closure, instead citing that the company didn't properly plan out its vision and scale.
"Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the platform for them as quickly and broadly as possible," The blog post reads. It continues, "It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform."
While we will agree that Mixer has always had a bit of trouble scaling up how tough it can be to grow a livestreaming service, there is also the timing of this response. It comes just a day after an ex-employee shared a Twitlonger post detailing the racism that they had to deal with while working at Microsoft's streaming company.
In the post, Twitter user @MilanKLee writes, " I worked at Microsoft for 2 years starting in 2017. In 2018 I relocated to Seattle to work on the Mixer team. I was beyond happy and anxious to have the ability to finally work in the gaming industry. The flip side to all of this is crazy, this experience was the worst I’ve ever had professionally and it’s all due to RACISM."
The post then continues to break down several instances of very blatant racism that took place throughout the course of the individual's employment at Mixer, and even after they left the job behind. It's a very sad thing to see, especially in an industry that already does such a terrible job of representing Black people and other minorities. If you haven't already, I definitely suggest reading MilanKLee's post, as it offers a very good look into just how stacked the workplace can be against people who have been consistently beat down and belittled.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about all of this, though, is that instead of trying to do anything about the systemic racism taking place in its company, Mixer is instead shutting down and pushing streamers to two other less than great streaming options. In the original announcement, Mixer invites all of its partnered streamers to make the move to Facebook Gaming, where they'll be welcomed into the partner program with open arms. Of course, there's no contractual agreement that they have to make this move -- at least not one that is mentioned -- so it does leave users open to be able to move back to Twitch if they so choose. Unfortunately, neither option is very good as both companies have done very little, if anything at all, to help fight the systemic racism that has plagued our country for years.
It's always sad to see a company mistreating anybody, but it's even sadder when that company refuses to take any responsibility for it's actions, instead tucking its tail between its legs and limping home like it's the victim.
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replyJosh Hawkins posted a new article, Mixer is closing down, invites streamers to move to Facebook Gaming
