Well-known streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel said he thinks that Kick is on the right path, poaching more and more Twitch streamers and “converting” them for the right reasons. Trainwecks’ streaming site made the next move in the battle against Twitch by bringing in Chess Master Hikaru by drawing him in with a non-exclusive contract. GM Hikaru is not restricted to Kick but can stream on any site he wants to, so by taking the higher road Kick convinced him to join them.
Twitch may be a big and well-known platform, but it’s not true that it has no competitors. Already many Twitch stars have turned their backs on the purple site to make a fresh start and have gone to YouTube, for example. Among them Valkyrae, Courage, and Dr Disrespect (though Dr D didn’t leave voluntarily, but was banned and had to switch).
Kick is Twitch’s new competitor
Now Twitch has gained yet another competitor. While Youtube focuses more on videos, Kick, just like Twitch, is a streaming platform that also has many similar categories to the Amazon-powered platform. Twitch cracked down on gambling streams some time ago, and that’s where Kick came in – because gambling streams are allowed there.
Welcome to the Kick family @GMHikaru 💚
Live Wednesday 11AM EST https://t.co/GjKXKBhVHM 📺 pic.twitter.com/LWZD8lw88Y
— Kick.com (@KickStreaming) March 29, 2023
Kick has made it clear from the start that it wants to become a competitor platform to Twitch. The site was started by Trainwrecks, who, like many other content creators on the site, found it outrageous that Twitch keeps 50% of the streamers’ revenue. Kick aims to change that, letting streamers keep almost everything they earn.
By getting Adin Ross Kick already made huge waves, rumors started popping up of them getting more and more high-caliber streamers, with their flexibility towards GM Hikaru they might have made another big argument for streamers to join them instead of the very corporate-like-acting Twitch.
xQc comments on Hikaru contract
According to xQc, Kick should try to attract new players this way instead of making them sign exclusive contracts this would clearly separate them from the other platforms, most famously Mixer, who failed miserably after notably poaching Shroud and Ninja who subsequently lost a lot of their relevancy before they returned to Twitch. “People think it’s bad that these guys are signing double contracts. Guys, I said years ago that this is the way to go,” xQc said on his stream a few days ago. “I’ve been saying this since Mixer was a thing.
One, it’s cheaper, and two, it creates an actual transfer. It creates an actual transfer that is gradual.” This gradual transfer that xQc is talking about probably refers to the audience. This is something that others have pointed out as well, they wouldn’t suddenly alienate their current viewers but allow them to get used to their beloved streamer being live on another website, allowing the streamer to retain much of their fanbase and also build a new home on the new streaminservice.
Of course, in the beginning it will be difficult for streamers to reach the same viewership numbers on Kick as they do on Twitch, but over time that could well change and Kick could become a true competitor on par with Twitch.