The biggest headlines for Twitch this year focused on the past. Last month, high-profile streamer Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm admitted that he was permanently banned from Twitch in 2020 after “messaging with an individual minor in 2017.” Following the reports, a former Twitch employee alleged that Beahm continued to send sexually explicit messages even after the minor’s age was known. His admission was somewhat prompted by his removal from his own development studio.
It’s a shocking story, and one that Twitch seems keen to distance itself from. When I specifically asked for comment on Dr. Disrespect’s story, I was met with a flat “no comment.” That’s not surprising: Twitch never comments on specific streamer cases, focusing instead on its platform.
Twitch has, however, stressed the importance of safety on the platform. “Harassment has no place on Twitch, and we take enforcing our policies against harassment and hateful conduct seriously,” a spokesperson told me, before listing a number of features used to promote safety, including Automod, Shield Mode, and follower verification. “These tools, in addition to our ongoing, 24/7 content moderation, help prevent harassment on Twitch. We will continue to build on this work.”
At the subsequent TwitchCon Europe 2024 event in Rotterdam, the mood was noticeably more positive and Twitch was understandably eager to look ahead to the future of Twitch.
But what exactly is the future of Twitch? In January, following layoffs, CEO Dan Clancy acknowledged that Twitch was unprofitable, leading to concerns among some streamers about the longevity of Amazon’s streaming platform.
I spoke with both VP of product Jeremy Forrester and VP of global partnerships Pontus Eskilsson at TwitchCon, who assured me that Twitch isn’t going anywhere. For both executives, sustainability was key.
“We absolutely plan to be around for many years to come,” Forrester said. “The biggest action we took was obviously the layoffs … to put Twitch in a position where it can be sustainable for the long term. We want to be in a position where we can continue to support creators for as long as possible.”
“We’re constantly evolving,” Eskilsson said. “We had a rough start to the year, but since then we’ve kept iterating, launching more things that have helped more streamers grow and make more money.
“We continue to build things that we think are going to have a net benefit for the community and we do it in a sustainable way. That’s really the key here, making sure that sustainability is top of mind for us long-term and that we intend to still be here 40 years from now.”
While neither VP works directly on the security team, it’s still an important aspect of their job, for both streamers and viewers.
“[Safety] “It usually comes very close to the beginning of the process, so when we build new products, we work very closely with our safety team,” Forrester explains. He cites products like Stream Together and the new drop-in feature unveiled during the convention’s opening ceremony, which gives streamers control over specific mechanisms to ensure their safety. The recent Discovery filters around content rating labels are also a way for viewers to safely manage content.
“It’s a very close collaboration between the two teams,” Forrester added, “because we don’t want to learn something that’s then used as a form of abuse. That’s the worst feeling.”
Eskilsson said: “Streamer safety is my top priority. It’s important to us that we run an inclusive site… The well-being of everyone on Twitch is definitely a key area for us and we’ve invested a lot in safety features for moderators and streamers. That’s something we’ll continue to do for the foreseeable future as it’s a constantly evolving workflow.”
During the opening ceremony, Clancy unveiled the platform’s new mission: “Create belonging by empowering streamers to build community.” This is how Twitch will operate, and a key part of that is listening to streamer feedback to improve the relationship between the platform and its users.
That relationship has been called into question at times. Earlier this year, for example, Twitch began making frequent changes to its community guidelines for sexual content as streamers pushed the boundaries of what’s acceptable. Moments like these suggest a certain animosity between Twitch and its streamers, though Twitch’s changes at least show that it’s listening to and responding to feedback more transparently than it has in the past.
“TwitchCon is a great example of how we try to go out and spend time with streamers, really understand their feedback, really understand what their pain points are, and make sure that we’re listening first and foremost,” Forrester said. Clancy, in particular, is described as a very hands-on CEO who has met with hundreds of streamers over the past few months to understand their needs and is committed to more transparent communication through the regular Patch Notes streams.
“How do we engage the community more deeply, so that we feel like we’re building together?” Forrester said. “I’ve seen the sentiment change quite a bit over the last few years, and I think there’s a lot of positivity around Twitch right now. I think it’s paying off.”
“I’ve seen the sentiment change quite a bit over the last few years and I think there’s a lot of positivity around Twitch right now. I think it’s paying off.”
Eskilsson also noted the roundtables and various forums at TwitchCon and online where the platform gathers feedback. “We have to keep iterating and we have to keep adapting and we have to keep adapting to the larger streaming community and the needs of the streaming community,” he said. “Our goal is to keep building things with the community. It’s not something we want to do in a silo. And being transparent as part of the conversations is key to that.”
Perhaps one way for Twitch to grow and stay sustainable is through non-gaming content. Gaming streams are the most prominent on the platform, but Just Chatting is consistently the most used tag. Additionally, IRL streams, music streams, and art streams are growing in popularity, which is one of the reasons for Twitch’s upcoming revamped mobile app, as well as a new DJ program in partnership with major labels to bring DJs streaming popular music. DJs and IRL streamers will also be the first to join Twitch’s new Creator Clubs to help streamers find communities of like-minded people.
Forrester agreed that non-gaming content is a growth area, but said there is still a lot of growth opportunity in gaming as well. “In the years that I’ve been at Twitch — eight years now — we’ve gone back and forth from ‘are there more gamers?’ and then the pandemic happened and we were like, ‘yeah, there are a lot more gamers,'” Forrester said. “So we definitely think there’s a lot of opportunity to grow gaming as a vertical.”
The reason for products that focus on non-gaming content is that it’s harder for those streamers to find each other and create a community. “If you’re streaming Final Fantasy online, you know who some of the other streamers are, you’ve probably met them, they probably know who you are,” Forrester said. “And it’s a lot easier to congregate there, whereas for streamers who are in non-gaming, it’s a little bit harder.”
He continued: “Game creators have something to do, that’s the core of it. As a streamer, you’re always looking for something to do to entertain your audience, to really connect with them, and game creators have games. Games also create a natural rhythm because there’s always new games coming out, or if you’re playing one game, they now have built-in seasons and mechanics to keep that game interesting. There’s always a rhythm to keep your content fresh. For non-gaming creators, we believe collaboration is a really big arc to help them grow.”
It all comes down to that mission statement, empowering streamers to grow and be part of a community. But how does Twitch help smaller streamers thrive? After all, popular streamers like Kai Cenat make headlines with record-breaking streams and stunts, but what about those on the other end of the spectrum?
Both Forrester and Eskilsson say consistency is the biggest driver of growth. “Kai has put in a significant amount of hours to get to where he is,” Eskilsson said. “When I talk to streamers here or at other events, it’s really that consistency that I’ve seen that’s been key.”
Forrester also advised consistency with regular stream schedules to give viewers a heads up when streamers are live. He also noted how streamers are getting more creative to engage the community and ensure streams are unique. As for Twitch, the Discovery Feed and new mobile app will help with discoverability for smaller streamers.
“Historically, the discovery of Twitch has always been: We give you a bunch of options and the viewer chooses which ones they want to watch,” he said. “That makes it really hard for us to actually drive traffic. That’s one of the reasons why when you’re small, it’s like, ‘I don’t feel like I’m getting viewers,’ it’s because we give viewers a bunch of different options and they choose the things they want to watch.
“With products like the feed, we have more control to hopefully help smaller creators grow. And if we find someone who’s successful, how do we help them grow faster? Historically, that’s been hard for us.”
“We are structured in such a way that we have a good view of where we want to go and where we want to be in the coming years.”
So it’s clear that Twitch still has room to grow, and that its new features can accelerate that growth by, as that mission statement suggests, empowering streamers to find and grow their community. The platform has weathered many storms, with this year’s negative headlines no exception, but by listening to streamers, Twitch is looking to maintain its position as the number one streaming platform.
“I personally feel very confident about where we are,” Forrester surmised. “We’re structured in a way that we have a good view of where we want to go and where we want to be over the next few years.”
“There’s something really great about the platform… it’s rare that you find a company that’s so closely tied between monetization and growth. For us, if we can get a viewer into the right streamer’s community, that’s what keeps them.
“It’s rare to find a company where all the parts are really tightly connected. And we’re all focused on the same direction.”
Twitch and its streamers appear to be more aligned than ever as the platform attempts to put the past behind it and hope for a brighter future.