Live streaming platform Twitch, which is a subsidiary of Amazon, has just warned that it may soon require users in the U.S. to shell out more cash for its subscription service.
Twitch informed users on Feb. 20 that it updated the price for its Tier 1 subscription in several countries to “help streamer revenue keep pace with rising costs and reflect local currency fluctuations,” according to an update on its website.
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A Tier 1 subscription is where viewers can pay $4.99 a month to support a streamer's channel on the platform where they can access exclusive emojis, streams and other perks. It is the most affordable subscription plan on the platform compared to its Tier 2 plan, which charges $9.99 a month, and Tier 3 which is $24.99 monthly.
In Australia, Canada and the U.K., prices for the Tier 1 subscription will increase by $1 on March 28, and it only applies to subscriptions that were purchased on a desktop or mobile web. Pricing adjustments on mobile apps will be updated “in the coming months.” Now, the streaming platform has hinted that a similar change may also soon come to the U.S.
During a Q&A session in a recent Twitch stream, Twitch Chief Marketing Officer Mike Minton answered a user's question on whether or not there will be a price increase in the U.S. for subscriptions, and Minton replied “probably yes.”
“Let me say it this way: probably yes,” said Minton. “Exactly what it will be is maybe still an open question.”
Twitch claims that streamers “will continue to receive the same net revenue share on subs and gift subs,” but the price hike will allow them to receive more per subscription.
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“Subscriptions are one of the most reliable ways viewers can support the streamers they love,” said Twitch in its update. “We are increasing subscription prices to drive more revenue to our streamers and help make streaming a more sustainable business for them.”
The move from Twitch comes after the company laid off 35% of its staff last month due to cost-cutting after the company had a "strong" year in 2023 where it paid $1 billion to streamers.
“Over the last year, we’ve been working to build a more sustainable business so that Twitch will be here for the long run and throughout the year we have cut costs and made many decisions to be more efficient,” wrote Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email sent to employees. “Unfortunately, despite these efforts, it has become clear that our organization is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business.”
Twitch is one of the many Amazon-owned platforms that have hiked its prices this year. Earlier this month, Ring announced that it will increase the price of its cheapest subscription plan by 25% on March 11, and users won’t get any extra features for the higher price.
Also, Amazon Prime Video managed to irk some of its customers last month by adding advertisements to the platform’s movies and TV shows and charging users an extra $3 a month to remove them, a move that has earned the company a class-action lawsuit.
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