Pokimane praises Ninja for inspiring other streamers to abandon Twitch

Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys has heaped praise onto Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins’ career-altering move to Mixer as the monumental shift has seemingly opened the floodgates for other content creators to follow suit.

As the streaming platform wars rage on and popular content creators continue to part ways with Twitch in favor of YouTube, Mixer, and even Facebook Gaming, Pokimane has highlighted that Ninja’s groundbreaking announcement is what opened the doors.

Revealed in August 2019, Ninja made the shocking announcement that Mixer would be his new home moving forward. Since then, some of the biggest names around the world have followed suit and while Pokimane has teased a move of her own, she credits Ninja for enabling such opportunities in the first place. 

Closing in on four million followers on Twitch, Pokimane has made a name for herself on the platform through frequent IRL and Just Chatting broadcasts. 

As a member of Offline TV, the streaming star is close with a number of internet superstars that have acted on monumental offers to jump ship and stream on platforms other than Twitch. Jeremy ‘DisguisedToast’ Wang for instance, recently parted ways with the purple brand in favor of Facebook Gaming.

“I’m friends with a lot of people that have made the move or have considered making the move,” she referenced in a January 15 broadcast while discussing the ever-growing frequency of such transitions. 

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Harkening back to one of the first major announcements, Pokimane expressed gratitude for Ninja’s jump to Mixer and outlined how similar deals might not have come about for her friends if the Fortnite phenomenon hadn’t abandoned his spot on top of Twitch.  “All I can say is God bless Ninja for doing it in the first place.”

“After Ninja made that move, now all platforms have to put a dollar amount on streamers,” she outlined. While many opt not to disclose such sensitive information, various deals have reportedly been struck for millions of dollars.

100 Thieves content creator, Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter serves as a recent example, as she is reportedly set to make just under $1 million per year for her exclusive YouTube deal.  

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“So literally, people are paying me and all my friends to do what we were gonna do flipping do for the next two to three years of our lives anyways.”

Summarizing her thoughts, Pokimane concluded that she feels grateful to be in such a position. Thanks to the Ninja’s and the shroud’s of the streaming world, she’s able to pursue her passion for a good chunk of change alongside her closest friends. “I feel like we’re just all so freakin’ lucky.” 

While Pokimane remains streaming on Twitch for the time being, she did not shy away from yet again teasing a potential move of her own, hinting that she’s “a person in a position of making such a move.”