Asmongold reveals Twitch rejected his requests for exclusive deal: “F**k ’em”
Twitch: AsmongoldAsmongold has revealed he may never sign an exclusive Twitch deal, despite boasting nearly 2.4 million loyal followers on the platform, after the streaming giant’s powerbrokers knocked back his request for a contract over “brand concerns.”
The popular World of Warcraft streamer — who has actually been branching out into other games recently — is currently on an indefinite hiatus from streaming.
News that other top Twitch streamers, including Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo and Timothy ‘TimTheTatman’ Betar, had defected to YouTube Gaming on rich exclusive deals lured him out of his self-imposed break to weigh in on the shock moves.
On Sep. 2, he went live on his “Zackrawrr” channel.
While streaming, the famous World of Warcraft personality dropped a major bombshell about his future: he will likely “never” be exclusive to the Amazon-owned streaming platform, after he was knocked back by Twitch brass when he requested an exclusive deal to keep him on the popular website long-term.
“Twitch did not offer me a custom contract,” he revealed. “I was going to see if I could get one, but they [turned it down]… they didn’t end up offering me one.”
Twitch: AsmongoldThe Twitch bombshell may shock long-time viewers, especially considering Asmongold accounts for a whopping 18,300 platform subscribers, and has been dominating raw viewing stats in recent times too.
The popular WoW star, however, was less shocked.
“Look, I have been very critical of the platform [in the past]. They could just see me as a politically incorrect streamer. A liability. A brand risk,” he said. “That’s fine.”
Another element Asmongold tipped as a likely factor in Twitch’s surprise decision was his irregular streaming breaks. He has already had two lengthy stints away from the website this year alone — not even including the one he’s currently on — and the 32-year-old admitted that “played at least a part.”
“It did bother me,” he admitted, “until I realized, why do I need a stamp of approval from a bunch of people that don’t even like me? So I thought to myself, f**k ‘em.”
Asmongold continued: “To clarify, my understanding is Twitch didn’t like that I went really hard on them in regards to the ads last year, specifically forced mid-roll ads.
“It’s understandable for them to not want to work with someone who’s criticized them as much as I have IMO. Although disappointing for me, I understand it and ultimately would rather have more autonomy than a paycheck.
“My other ‘takes’ I assume were largely irrelevant to the decision and even the ad thing was probably secondary to the fact I take breaks and am inconsistent.”