Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has just officially returned to Twitch recently, after the Mixer shutdown. While most fans are happy for his comeback, others had allegedly called him a “sellout.”
It took roughly two months for Ninja to return to streaming after he decided not to follow the Mixer crowd on Facebook Gaming. His delayed return to the streaming world may have made others suspicious.
Comparisons may have been made when Dr Disrespect returned to streaming first after he was mysteriously banned Twitch. Fans lauded him for not waiting for any platform deals before returning online.
Meanwhile, Ninja took the most time among all three controversial famed streamers—Dr Disrespect, Shroud, and him—to return. Many believed he was just testing the waters when he streamed once on YouTube and did a one-off on Twitch.
Where is this “sellout” comment coming from?
Critics believe that Ninja might have been waiting for another multi-million dollar deal before he returns to streaming. It was previously reported that Ninja and Shroud allegedly received millions from Mixer to but them out of the contract.
According to Rod Breslau, Ninja received a whopping US$30 million contract buy-out. To add, Facebook reportedly tried negotiating with the streaming superstar to stay with them, but Blevins refused.
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 Breslau (@Slasher) June 22, 2020
Of course, these payout rumors were never denied nor confirmed by any concerned party. Meanwhile, Mixer reportedly promised Blevins “between $20 million and $30 million per year” to join Microsoft’s streaming platform.
Nonetheless, Blevins’ wife and manager, Jessica, has since cleared out that the Twitch move out was not just due to financial woes but more of contract restrictions.
Now that Ninja is back on Twitch with a multi-year deal, game analysts can only guess how much this deal cost.
https://twitter.com/NowJustMaul/status/1304106039734865921
TimTheTatman defends Ninja
Meanwhile, Timothy John Betar, famously known as TimTheTatman, took it to himself during one of his streams to defend Ninja, per EssentiallySports.
The gaming publication quotes Betar’s hypothetical scenario comparable to Ninja’s situation:
“Let me give you a hypothetical: you’re working at McDonald’s. Someone comes up to you and says, I’ll give you $10M/$20M to work at Burger King… Are you gonna be taking that money? Or you’re gonna be like, “Nah, I’m not gonna sell out. McDonald’s for life!”
Per the report, those that have accused Ninja of being a “sellout” are a bunch of “youngsters with unrealistic brand loyalty.”
You're a sellout
— Ryan (@ryanhayw) September 10, 2020
Betar further explained how his friend’s Mixer jump instead help other streamers:
“Listen, Tyler going over to Mixer helped the gaming streaming industry as a whole and I think a lot of people don’t see that. He’s a large streamer that took a leap and he tried something. And that pushes the envelope for everyone else.”
Ninja has been an inspiration to many young gamers to jump into the streaming world, hoping to meet the same fate as their idol. With his move to Mixer, Blevins reportedly help build “a healthy competition in the industry.”
As Twitch had to “up the ante for the other streamers.”
Featured image courtesy of Ninja/YouTube Screenshot