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Twitch streamer Pokimane: Farewell message to millions of followers
Photo: Kevin Winter / AFP / Getty Images
Pokimane, possibly the most successful streamer in the world, has announced her departure from Twitch. “The end of an era,” said the 27-year-old herself on Tuesday evening, commenting on her decision to withdraw from the streaming platform despite her 9.3 million followers worldwide. The French-Canadian streamer posted a photo from her Twitch channel to accompany her message on the online networks X and Instagram.
Pokimane, whose real name is Imane Anys, is one of the biggest stars on Amazon's video platform. She streamed there for more than ten years, including games like “League of Legends” and “Fortnite”. Pokimane initially didn't let her fans know whether she was switching to another streaming platform or taking a break.
In recent years, many Twitch stars have switched to competitors such as YouTube or the Kick platform. The latter provider, which launched in 2022, promises streamers more freedom and a higher share of the revenue, but has a rather questionable reputation.
Especially in the area of Google's video platform YouTube, many successful streamers have ended their careers in recent months or at least announced longer breaks and a less frequent appearance of their videos. These included the American Matthew Patrick, who had 18.9 million subscribers on YouTube, and the Brit Tom Scott with 6.4 million subscribers. Many people justified their departure, among other things, with the fear of suffering burnout.
Pokimane's departure is a blow to Twitch after the company announced in early January that it would lay off 500 employees as part of a major job cuts program at parent company Amazon. According to media reports, this corresponds to around a third of the Twitch workforce. Twitch sent the message to Pokimane that she “always has a place” on the platform.
mak/AFP