You could say the huge Twitch data leak came at an inopportune time for the streaming service. On the other hand, inopportune times has become the rule at the Amazon subsidiary. For months, actually for years, the leading provider of video streams has been making mostly negative headlines. It’s about internet stars who are looking for a new platform, about a lack of protection against copyright claims, about rampant hatred or about swatting, in which live streamers are harassed on the police.
There are now over 100 GB of internal data in the network. It contains, among other things, source code, information about a planned Steam competitor and details about how much money the streamers have made on Twitch in recent years. And a clear message: “The Twitch community is a disgusting, toxic cesspool,” write the unknown leaker on their publication. “Try harder, Twitch!”
Your own fault?
Apart from the inconsistency of this statement and the publication of private data: It can now be found in numerous media reporting on the incident. The leakers do not want to see Twitch as a victim, but rather blame the service itself for responsibility. The message to Twitch: “You are to blame for the leak.”
So it’s no wonder that popular streamers – including those at the top of the published revenue list – now seem to be mostly angry with Twitch. “Hey Twitch, can you explain that?” For example, the well-known streamer Félix Lengyel writes, known as xQc on Twitter. “Are you fucking kidding me?”, The streamer Peter Park fires in the direction of the streaming service.
Other streamers who have turned their backs on Twitch in the past few years should feel right now in their decision. This includes celebrity gamer Ninja, who first joined Mixer in 2019, after which he switched to Youtube Gaming in 2020. In September, Youtube snatched Ben “DrLupo” Lupo and Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar from the Amazon competitor – two well-known streaming personalities who bring a large audience. It should now be even more difficult for Twitch to keep other streaming stars willing to switch. In any case, it can be doubted that the contractual loyalty among the partners is still particularly high after the huge data leak.
Disaster year for Twitch
Despite all the scandals of recent years, Twitch is still comfortably number 1 among the streaming services. Over 70 percent of the hours that users spend watching the live stream were watched on Twitch in the first quarter. It is quite possible, however, that Twitch supremacy will soon actually start to shake. After copyright problems, so-called “Hate-Raids” and one Streamers strike the data leak is the bitter punch line in a disaster year for the Amazon subsidiary.
And maybe it wasn’t even that: According to the unknown, the published data is only part 1. It is still completely unclear which other documents they have stolen. It remains to be hoped that at least the numerous spectators will be spared.
(dahe)
