Despite signing a number of major streamers including Shroud, Microsoft’s livestream platform Mixer just couldn’t break through. So starting today, Microsoft is moving all of Mixer’s content over to Facebook Gaming before Mixer gets shut down completely on July 22.
In a post on the Mixer blog, Microsoft said that even with numerous and significant investments into Mixer “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.”
Going forward, Microsoft is teaming up with Facebook to transition current Mixer viewers and streamers over to Facebook Gaming, with Facebook saying that it will honour and match existing partner agreements as best it can. Streamers who participated in Mixer’s Open Monetisation Program will also be granted eligibility for Facebook Gaming’s Level Up program, with Facebook working to “fast-track” the transition for eligible streamers.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is encouraging viewers to spend any remaining Embers or Sparks they might have as Mixer partners will receive double payment on all earnings in June. And for anyone with any money left on Mixer after that due to things like ongoing channel subscriptions, Mixer Pro subscriptions, or any leftover Embers, Microsoft says those will be things will be converted into Xbox Gift Card credits.
Finally, on July 22, 2020, Mixer will shut down and will automatically direct desktop users who visit Mixer.com to Facebook Gaming, while on Xbox One, Mixer broadcasting will be disabled and replaced with a redirect or notification prompting users to seek out their favourite streamers on Facebook Gaming.
Sources: Facebook offered an insane offer at almost double for the original Mixer contracts of Ninja and Shroud but Loaded/Ninja/Shroud said no and forced Mixer to buy them out. Ninja made ~$30M from Mixer, and Shroud made ~$10M
Ninja and Shroud are now free agents
— Rod “4475 SR & Immortal peak” Breslau (@Slasher) June 22, 2020
The one major wrinkle to all this is that while many small and mid-sized Mixer streamers may end up transitioning to Facebook Gaming, that may not hold true for some of Mixer’s biggest creators, with Rod “Slasher” Breslau reporting that both Ninja and Shroud forced Mixer to buy out their contracts instead of accepting newer and much larger offers from Facebook.
So while Facebook has recently lured some big streamers from other services over to Facebook Gaming including Disguised Toast and Zero, it appears Mixer’s impending death will result in another platform shuffle for some of today’s biggest streamers.
In the end, while Microsoft made a valiant effort to create its own streaming service and community, even with Microsoft’s huge resources Mixer still got crushed by Twitch and the other streaming giants. RIP.