The Twitch craze

Twitch streamers enjoy soaring viewerships and revenues

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Credit: Max Rosenblum

Dota 2 and Fortnite are the two most popular games to watch on Twitch. Twitch, an online streaming service, enables viewers to both observe and connect with streamers. Twitch can be downloaded as an application on iPhones and Androids.

By Jordan Miller, Managing Editor

Twitch’s Fortnite Summer Skirmish Tournament is coming to a close and streamers are walking away with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. Eight million dollars in prizes were given away in eight weeks.

Twitch is a live streaming platform that allows users to engage with their favorite streamers. Users can watch live streams of gamers playing a variety of games ranging from Fortnite to Super Mario World or people live streaming their lives. Users do not just watch; they can interact with streamers through chat rooms in which they can talk or use emotes.

Freshman Tanner Benedetto explained,  “You have people commentating over what they’re doing and you have people like TSM Daequan who are really fun to watch and really funny. So it’s more about listening to [the streamers] then watching what they are doing.”

Users and streamers share a love for Twitch. Streamers can make money through donations where viewers donate directly to the streamer, or subscriptions. Subscribers pay five dollars a month to essentially support their favorite streamer but they also receive perks like ad-free viewing and a subscriber only chat room. Renowned Fortnite player ‘Ninja’ makes approximately $500,000 a month from the platform, according to the New York Times.  

Amazon reportedly purchased Twitch for $970,000,000 in 2014, and with an Amazon Prime account comes Twitch Prime, which allows users to download skins, complimentary free games, receive in game loot, subscribe to one streamer for free, and gives access to other features.

Twitch is available as an app for Android and iPhone and can be purchased at the Google Play Store or Apple Store.