Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Fortune
Fortune
Orianna Rosa Royle

'MrBeast' joins the revolt against Twitch's new rules

MrBeast walking in neon lights (Credit: Denise Truscello—Getty Images)

The world’s most popular YouTuber, MrBeast, has a powerful voice—and he’s not afraid to use it.

With over 158 million followers on YouTube alone, MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) has an army of fans he frequently calls on for help

Now he’s hoping he can sway the bosses at Twitch to reconsider its latest branded and sponsored content policy changes.

In a now-deleted tweet, he called the new guidelines the "funniest thing" he’s seen all year before teasing that he might stream on a rival platform, despite not being a gamer, just to “spite them.”

"Hey Twitch, how about instead of handicapping what creators make, you help them make more? Seems more logical," he wrote on Twitter moments after the streaming platform announced it will impose significant limitations on sponsored streams, on Tuesday.

Why MrBeast is calling out Twitch’s new policy

The popular streaming site’s updated branded and sponsored content policy outright bans any “burned in” video, audio or display ads. 

Meanwhile, on-stream brand logos or overlays will now be limited to 3% of a screen size, providing streamers very little area to work with. 

The rules, which come into effect on July 1, impose limitations specifically on sponsored streams—a big revenue stream for many content creators.

These policy modifications were met with overwhelmingly negative feedback, including strong opposition from prominent streamers like Asmongold, who called for a Twitch boycott.

Although changes won’t really impact MrBeast, who rarely ever streams, as a content creator, he understands how streamers may be feeling and is apparently voicing his concerns on their behalf. 

“If YouTube pulled this sh*t I’d lose my mind,” he empathized before following Kick, a rival streaming platform, on Twitter.

Twitch: Too little, too late

In the aftermath of the MrBeast backlash, Twitch released a statement on Twitter, admitting that its new policy was “overly broad” and “created confusion and frustration.”

“We do not intend to limit streamers’ ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors, and we understand that this is an important part of how streamers earn revenue,” it added.

“We wanted to clarify our existing ads policy that was intended to prohibit third-party ad networks from selling burned-in video and display ads on Twitch, which is consistent with other services.”

But its response could be too little, too late. 

Kick didn’t waste any time capitalizing on MrBeast’s attention. It promptly tweeted that its account had just been followed by “the GOAT” (the greatest of all time) while crowing: “It’s time for Kick to Takeover.”

In response, MrBeast teased doing a “fun stream to protest Twitch,” which has even piqued the interest of Elon Musk.

With just one word, the Twitter and Tesla owner weighed in on the debate and seemingly threw his support behind the Twitch protest: “Great!”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.