Twitch not surprised streamers like Valkyrae & Ludwig return as soon as YouTube deals end

Twitch is still the top dog in livestreaming and the return of streamers like Valkyrae, Ludwig, and Sykkuno comes as no surprise to the site’s leaders, who told Dexerto it’s thanks to the unique audience engagement it has fostered.

Over the past few years, Twitch lost a number of its biggest stars to challengers like YouTube and Kick. Myth, TimTheTatman, DrLupo, Ludwig, Valkyrae, Fuslie, Swagg, Sykkuno, LilyPichu, BruceDropEmOff, DisguisedToast and others all left Twitch, only to eventually return when their exclusivity contracts elsewhere expired.

Twitch highlighted some key metrics to Dexerto around this shift, explaining, “2024 saw a significant shift in the scene as multimillion-dollar contracts from Kick and YouTube with high-profile influencers expired, leaving many reconsidering their positions with these services.

“This has resulted in a wave of creators returning to Twitch to renew their growth and engage with their communities,” Twitch continued.

“Huge names such as Ludwig (3.3m followers on Twitch), Sykkuno (3.9m followers), Valkyrae (1.2m followers) and more have settled back on Twitch after a brief stint on other platforms, citing a preference for the community and format Twitch’s service provides as reasons for their returns.”

“Their audience never left Twitch”

Pontus Eskilsson, VP of Global Partnerships at Twitch, boasted of the platform’s “industry-leading partnership programs and monetization,” but said that isn’t the real reason creators are flocking back.

“We have been delighted to welcome back so many talented streamers over the past year. It’s no coincidence that many of them have found that their audience never left Twitch and were right here waiting for them,” Eskilsson explained.

“While we offer industry-leading partnership programs and monetization, we know that isn’t what drives creators. To really thrive, these creators need the engaged audience and real-time discourse that makes livestreaming such a unique and popular format. They come for their communities and friends across shared passions. This continues to be what Twitch is built on, and why we are the leading livestreaming service.”

Valkyrae, after moving back to Twitch, also highlighted that YouTube’s focus is now elsewhere, shifting towards Shorts, rather than streaming.

“They’ve told me. They’ve specifically told me that their priority is Shorts,” she said. “There were things on the streaming side of things that I wanted changed, that didn’t change and I’ve been there for five years.”

Twitch is very much still in the driving seat, and while YouTube and Kick may have provided much-needed competition (which likely influenced some of Twitch’s own changes), it’s difficult to disagree with their assessment that they still offer an unparalleled community experience for streamers and viewers alike.