“Ninja is going to be streaming exclusively on Mixer! We couldn’t be more hyped for this news and what it means for our community. We’re committed to building the best and most positive streaming community, as well as continuing to foster growth,” wrote Josh Stein, Social Lead at Mixer on the official Mixer Discord server, via OnMSFT. The announcement led to an immediate uptick in the downloads of Microsoft’s Mixer app. As noted by Bryce Blum, Mixer reached number one on Apple’s app store charts, while Google searches for the platform shot upward. Needless to say, many of Ninja’s 14 million followers will follow him on Mixer, which can only be good for Microsoft. While there, they’ll likely to check out others on the platform and become more invested. Ninja’s influence may also lead to other streamers with grievances with Twitch to do the same.
Streaming Exclusives
It seems this tactic may soon be a common one for the tech giant to boost its competing platform. It previously convinced Ray Cox, Xbox Gamerscore leader, to leave for Mixer in a similar fashion. Assumedly, Ninja received significant incentives to move to Mixer. He did not reveal the details of his new contract with Microsoft but did post two videos about the move on his YouTube channel. “I have been holding on to this for quite some time,” Blevin said in a Twitter follow-up video. “And I’m just super excited to let everyone know. I’ll be streaming on Mixer full-time now and I’m honestly at a loss for words. I’m freaking out in the best ways. I feel like I’m going to get back to the streaming roots.” Meanwhile, Twitch had some closing words about the star. “We’ve loved watching Ninja on Twitch over the years and are proud of all that he’s accomplished for himself and his family, and the gaming community,” it said to the Verge. “We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
