Twitch is actively issuing warnings to streamers who are doing Omoggle on stream. Omoggle is a live 1v1 arena-style face-looksmaxxing service, similar to Ome/Monkey app, in that it randomly pairs you with a stranger. Example of Quin69 being mogged:

Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting is testing the reintroduction of server-side transcodes for Partnered streamers doing both 1440p and Vertical streams. This is because streamers experienced performance issues due to hardware or bandwidth constraints.

Meta will soon use AI to scan photos for age assurance purposes. In select countries, on Facebook or Instagram, they will scan for "general themes and visual cues, for example, height or bone structure, to estimate someone's general age".

Twitch has shut down the Monthly Recap feature due to low usage. Monthly recaps were a channel-level subscriber perk that showed you your time watched, top emotes used, chats sent, and other data from that stream in the previous month.

For the Europeans!

Do you want to go to @Twitch Con Europe in Rotterdam? We're giving away two free passes to two lucky winners to this year's TwitchCon Europe on May 30th-31st! Complete the following actions via the link below to enter! ✔️Follow+💚Like+📲Tag a friend you want to go with! https://bit.ly/4nbdUP2

My newsletter went out this morning! Lots of stories this week, including: 💰 YouTube's $9.8B Ad Rev 🌱 Twitch Weekly Reward 🫦 Omoggle Strangers 📰 Patreon's New Discovery 🛞 Former Faze Now CORE 📲 Vine is Back, Sorta + so much more! tos.gg/stream-recap...

Ask.com, formerly AskJeeves, has shut down.

Twitchcon Rotterdam 2026 Exhibitors List Streamlabs LogitechG 7TV Amaran Ascension Blerp ByteRockers CatsAdvocacy CoppaFeel Delulu ELO Fractal Hollyland Humane World Mind Minecraft Polyglottika Sea Of Thieves Streamable TCG World Socket UnlimitedIRL Unrailed 2 Vulkan Gear WOT Heat Xsolla Yamaha

YouTube is running an experiment on mobile devices that changes thumbnail and video sizes in the home feed. This may result in your thumbnails appearing cropped.

Every Monday, I send out my newsletter covering the creator space! Get caught up in less than 10 minutes on stories like: 🎮 Play Demos on Twitch 💳 UK's TikTok Visa Card 🫰 Polish Live Charity Record 🍳 iGumDrop x MasterChef + jobs, game keys & more! tos.gg/stream-recap...

Twitch is testing a new Weekly Rewards Badge. The badge upgrades the more you watch each week, and rewards additional channel points.

Twitch appears to have retired the clips.twitch.tv/ linking system. New clips now feature the creator's username. Old clips are automatically redirected to this system.

YouTube is testing a conversational search powered by AI. This experiment is available for Premium members in the USA.

A good opportunity to influence one of the future paths of livestreaming (and be one of the first to do it!) Beta test for IRL streamers with Meta glasses!

Twitch indefinitely suspended a dozen+ Russian Partners streaming a CS2 esports competition from Russia's Alabuga Polytech. Alabuga Polytech has been widely reported as a Shahad drone-building facility and has been actively recruiting young people.

Polish YouTube streamer Piotrek Garkowski, aka Łatwogang, has raised over 200,000,000 zł (~$55 million USD) for the Cancer Fighters Foundation. They also hit 1.64 million live viewers. There's one hour left in the charity marathon stream.

Xbox Game Pass "Starter Edition" will come bundled with a Discord Nitro subscription, include 50+ games, and other perks. via @discordpreviews.com

Twitter X is shutting down and deleting all Communities on May 6, due to declining usage and a push towards XChat.

Xbox CEO Asha Shar has teased an Xbox Game Pass and Discord partnership.

Amazon is experimenting with the ability to play games through Twitch. "Game Lift" is being tested with a 20-minute ReAnimal demo in the USA and Canada on Desktop Web.

The 200th Edition of the Newsletter! This week, get caught up on: ✂️YouTube Cuts Clips 🟡 Snapchat + Meta Layoffs 🪩 Club Launch 🤼 IShowSpeed at WrestleMania 💰 Two Big Charity Events + Game Keys, Industry Jobs + so much more! tos.gg/stream-recap...

YouTube is shutting down the Clips feature and replacing it with "Share at Timestamp," as it is now available on mobile. Later this year, they'll launch a Video Clips to Shorts and Auto-Suggestions feature to help creators share their videos' best moments.

The Streamer Awards 2026 will be on November 12, 2026. That's one day before Twitchcon San Diego 2026.

Axios reports that Creator Platforms are in their copycat era, with most players effectively offering the same one-stop toolkit for creators. Are you using any of these platforms as part of your creator business?

Twitch has a new recruitment page that fast-tracks creators to get Twitch Partner. Creators with followings on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, or Snapchat are asked to enter their follower counts and usernames. Twitch will then reach out if you are a good fit.

Twitch Sponsorships continue to underpay creators... so sad, after the very fair Minecraft campaign. Twitch: Max $78.72 (Creators usually hit 40-60% of payout.) Sponsorship Platform: $80 Guaranteed (+).

Twitch is testing an easier way to Subscribe with Prime. On click, it will confirm you want to use your Prime. This effectively reduces the flow to two clicks.

YouTube is making ads less intrusive on livestreams. 1. When a viewer sends Super Chats, Stickers, or Gifts, the sender will not see ads for a short period of time. 2. YouTube now recognizes if Chat Engagement is peaking, and will not run ads for anyone during that time.

Twitch just updated the Terms of Service. IANAL, but my analysis: Section 4: Covers Authorized Users (3rd parties, Business Manager role, etc.) Section 8: Pieces apart your content (video, audio, images, text) to allow Twitch to provide and improve the platform. www.youtube.com/shorts/2TJJF...

YouTube is expanding Gifts to include Horizontal streams (on mobile devices). It had previously been limited to vertical streams on mobile.

Twitch has updated the Monetized Streamer Agreement to include new language on how it shares user data with Advertisers.

The newsletter JUST went out to subscribers! If you read it now, you're only 5 minutes behind! 💸 Twitch Finally Pays a Fair Sponsor Rate ⛔ DLive Shutting Down 📉 TikTok Loses 12% of Live Viewership 🔥 W Streamer Burnout + Game Keys & Industry Careers! tos.gg/stream-recap...

As of yesterday, Amazon Luna (formerly Prime Gaming) no longer allows users to purchase games nor supports third-party game stores/subscriptions. Users who have purchased a game/subscription to play via Luna will lose access to them on June 10, 2026.

Asmongold has been unsuspended from streaming. His streaming suspension lasted for 4 days.

Discord is working on two new ad formats. 🖥️ Hero Ads: A full-screen takeover format. 🎮 Instant Play Quests: Stream/Play within Discord.

TikTok lost nearly 12% of its live viewership in Q1 of 2026! Twitch +4.46% Kick +1.79% YouTube -0.24% TikTok -11.92% Stats via StreamsCharts

YouTube is testing a feature called Auto-Speed that automatically adjusts video playback rates to save time without losing comprehension. It's exclusive to Premium subscribers until April 27.

Streaming service DLive has announced that it will be ceasing operations.

Asmongold has been suspended from streaming on Twitch.

Twitch and Minecraft are teaming up for a major campaign. Twitch Partners and Affiliates can access a Minecraft Sponsorship (the first time Affiliates are eligible). Partner offers are good (~$1+/CCV/Hour). Affiliate offers are okay. > dashboard.twitch.tv/monetization...

If we compare this to Q4 2025... +32K Onboarded +94K Affiliates +3600 Partners (Largest ever Quarterly Gain) -228 Staff (Stealth Layoff? More likely, account cleanup as people increasingly move out of Twitch and into Amazon.)

Twitchcon has just removed the Featured Creators section from the Rotterdam 2026 page. As such, I deleted the tweet below.

Twitch brought back the original Twitch for April Fools on desktop. twitch.tv/_xarth

Spartacus doing his best Will Smith Empty Room impression. I'll send out this week's newsletter shortly, and then I have to pack up the PC/desk! Over a decade in this apartment, but it's on to a new city and new adventures!

We're heading to #PAXEast with our buddies at @LogitechG! If you're headed to Boston for the con, make sure to stop by Booth #16061 and say hi, we've got some awesome features to show you like Stream Shift, Game Pulse, AI Agent, and Reactive Overlays! So make sure to come by the booth and say hi!

Twitchcon Rotterdam 2026 Tickets €125 (€135) for the Two-Day Pass €75 (€85) for a One-Day Pass (Prices increase by €10 on April 21, 2026.) Twitch ditched the referral program. WELCOMEBACK10 or GOTIME10 for 10% Discount (limited time).

Twitch is running an experiment where they add a "Gift Turbo" button to a persons usercard.

Twitch has been picked by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies of 2026. Why? "For letting athletes and musicians in on the streaming action," I'm not quite sure how a recruitment strategy is innovative... but maybe it's better than just copying TikTok.

Twitchcon Rotterdam 2026 tickets go on sale tomorrow. Save 10% with code WELCOMEBACK10. - PS. Speaking of 10%... Partners, you are worth more than the low-paying sponsorship offers that Twitch pitches to you. Know your worth.