Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
Twitch’s largest streamer, XqC, has signed a $100 million, two-year, non-exclusive streaming deal with Kick; a major shake-up in the streaming business amid increasing tension between Twitch and some of its biggest names.
Felix “xQc” Lengyel, the former Overwatch pro turned streaming superstar will take his talents to Kick, as reported by the New York Times and confirmed by Lengyel. During a subsequent livestream, xQc explained to his community that he won’t be leaving Twitch permanently. Thanks to the non-exclusive nature of his new contract, xQc is still free to stream on Twitch as he likes.
Kick officially launched earlier this year. Co-owned by popular streamer Trainwrecks and heavily funded by gambling company Stake, Kick operates essentially the same as Twitch, with lighter rules on content. Kick has been aggressively trying to lure streamers over to its platform over the past several months, with those efforts ramping up after Twitch put itself in hot water by introducing (now canceled) changes to its advertisement guidelines.
The announcement sent waves through the industry, with several of Twitch and YouTube’s biggest streamers chiming in on the news. It'll be interesting to see if the move inspires other creators on Twitch to jump ship in hopes of greener pastures on Kick.