Popular streamer Felix ‘xQc' Lengyel has made strong claims, suggesting that fellow streamers Hasan and Pokimane are apprehensive about the potential success of the new streaming platform Kick. According to xQc, this fear has led them to criticize his recent deal.
On June 16, xQc made headlines when it was revealed that he had signed a lucrative non-exclusive deal with Kick, which could earn him up to $100m. While many streamers applauded him for securing such a lucrative deal, others voiced concerns due to Kick's association with crypto casino and gambling website Stake.com.
xQc was not the only top streamer to leave Twitch. Not more than 48 hours after the announcement about his deal with Kick, Twitch star Amouranth also revealed her partnership with Kick. Her departure from Twitch came as one more blow to the platform, which has been losing major streamers to Kick recently.
One of the prominent critics of Kick is Pokimane, who stated that she would not accept a $10m offer as it would compromise her moral and ethical values. Similarly, Hasan expressed skepticism, speculating that Kick would face increased scrutiny from both content creators and the media as it signed more high-profile talent.
xQc addressed the backlash from these two streamers during a recent livestream. He watched Hasan's stream where Hasan and MoistCr1TiKal discussed their thoughts on Kick's streamer contracts. Moist previously referred to Twitch as a “sinking ship” upon learning about xQc's deal, while Hasan expressed concerns about Kick's association with Stake.com.
Reacting live to their conversation, xQc argued that both Hasan and Pokimane are fearful of Kick's potential success. He claimed: “The only reason they're talking negatively is because they've realized that, ‘Oh my God, it might actually work,' and that scares them.” He further suggested that they are afraid that if Twitch fails, they will lose their income.
This Twitch talent exodus comes in the wake of Twitch's implementation of changes to its revenue-sharing model, which has sparked outrage and dissatisfaction within the streaming community.
In an effort to address the criticism, Twitch implemented the Partner Plus Program, which restored the previous 70/30 revenue split for a specific set of high-profile creators. However, it still keeps streamers unhappy due to its restricted eligibility and accompanying conditions.
On the other hand, Kick offers streamers the opportunity to keep 95% of subscription revenues and 100% of tips, making it a more attractive platform despite concerns about content moderation and its association with gambling.
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