Tyler Blevins – known as “Ninja” – has left Twitch in favor of Mixer. The announcement was made in a clever (and delightfully cheesy) video that was posted on Ninja’s Twitter account. Ninja was one of Twitch’s biggest streamers.
A press release on Bloomberg provides more details: Gaming superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced he is teaming up with Microsoft’s interactive live streaming service, Mixer, to stream panels and games exclusively at Mixer. Ninja will kick off his first Mixer stream during Lollapalooza 2019, from August 2 through August 4, at Ninja’s Dojo inside the Red Bull Outpost.
“I never would have thought that I could build a career by doing what I love, and I am extremely grateful for the incredible experiences that I have had. As I look at the next step in my career, achieving bigger goals in the gaming industry with Mixer will allow me to have the perfect balance of opportunities and success. My roots as a gamer started with Halo, so working with Microsoft and coming over to Mixer felt like a natural next step. Capturing all the great moments in gaming and sharing the wins (and losses) with a positive, community-focused environment that we can all be proud of – that’s why I’m here”, said Ninja.
The Verge reported that Mixer is owned by Microsoft. It was originally launched as Beam back in 2016, and was rebranded as Mixer in 2017.
The Verge also reported a statement from Mixer: “We’re thrilled to welcome Ninja and his community to Mixer. Mixer is a place that was formed around being positive and welcoming from day one, and we look forward to the energy Ninja and his community will bring.”
It is definitely an interesting move for Ninja, who has built up a huge following on Twitch. I think that many of his fans will go over to Mixer to watch him stream. Of course, there will be people who complain about his decision. I cannot confirm this, but I suspect that perhaps Mixer is giving Ninja a better financial deal than Twitch did.