
YouTube has suffered another setback in the struggle for gamers’ attention. Ali “Myth” Kabbani has inked an exclusive contract with YouTube Gaming, the world’s largest provider of video and streaming services announced today.
Popular Fortnite and Valorant player Kabbani revealed his agreement in a video, claiming that it was “his decision.”
The talent agency that brought DrLupo and TimTheTatman to YouTube enabled Kabbani’s move, which comes as the platform keeps luring well-known Twitch personalities away from the platform. The two join other former Twitch creators including Ludwig, Valkyrae, and the notorious Dr Disrespect, who just last week revealed her exclusive partnership with YouTube. YouTube has exclusive agreements with the Call of Duty and Overwatch esports leagues in addition to streams.
Twitch has had a contentious discussion on creator pay. Although Kabbani did not provide an explanation for this move, there have been worries that Twitch’s top producers may soon see a wage drop. According to a recent Bloomberg article, Twitch may be considering cutting the subscription income split for its top partners from 70% to 50%. Twitch did not respond to the claim and has not yet modified its revenue-sharing model. Streamers expressed a strong reaction to the news, noting that such changes might push producers to switch to other platforms, like YouTube.
There are still complaints that the Amazon-owned platform Twitch is not paying its artists a fair portion of its billions of dollars in income, despite changes to its monetization model, including granting flat fees to broadcasters who play a specific number of adverts and a new channel surfing function.
All 7.4 million of Kabbani’s Twitch viewers will have to switch to YouTube as of tomorrow if they want to see him play.