In the wake of Ninja leaving Twitch for Mixer last week, Twitch is using Ninja’s channel to advertise other Fortnite streamers. Twitch previously removed Ninja’s Twitch verification badge, resulting in accusations of “saltiness” from many on social media.
Instead of displaying a video of a previous stream like other channels do when they’re offline, the front page of Ninja’s Twitch channel now displays an array of other, currently live channels beneath a banner that reads: “The Ninja you’re looking for is in another castle. Check out these popular live channels.” Visitors to Ninja’s channel can still view archived videos and clips, but the old front page is inaccessible.
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The addition of the Twitch Mario reference and accompanying links to other channels appears to be a move specific to Ninja’s channel. When attempting to visit as the channels of banned streamers, users are met with a message that tells them the content is unavailable, and the channels of other streamer that have left Twitch on their own accord simply display an archived video or blank video frame. Visiting PewDiePie’s Twitch channel, for example, brings users to a blank video frame, as PewDiePie now streams exclusively on DLive. (Notably, PewDiePie’s Twitch channel still retains its verification mark.)
As with the verification removal, this decision has brought with it criticism from social media users accusing Twitch of wrongdoing. Daniel “Keemstar” Keem of DramaAlert once again weighed in on Twitch’s decision, earning thousands of retweets and tens of thousands of likes, and many others on Twitter share his sentiment.
Twitch you so wrong for this ! pic.twitter.com/wofYHg0XCX
— KEEM
Others, like Twitter user @TravisSchreffler, find Twitch’s decision to be one that makes sense for the platform and that will only help out the other streamers it highlights.
Twitch made a special banner for Ninja's channel and while it's easy for people to shit on, it's the right call
So many saying "WOW TWITCH SALTY" and what you don't realize is that this is a pro-streamer move. It's keeping traffic on the site, which is a GOOD thing pic.twitter.com/CzwicZSBnq
— travis (@TravisShreffler) August 5, 2019
Following Ninja’s Twitch exit, Twitch told Polygon its staff members were proud of Ninja’s accomplishments and wished him luck in his future at Mixer. Ninja’s Mixer channel has gained more than 675,000 followers and more than 3.8 million total views since he joined the platform last Friday.
