Popular Fortnite streamer, Ninja, is back on track after the Mixer shutdown. The gamer is back online via YouTube gaming.
Two words are all it took for Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to announce his return. His comeback was teased on his Twitter account. The streamer went live on YouTube gaming soon after.
One hour
— Ninja (@Ninja) July 8, 2020
The streamer went live together with Dr Luppo, TimTheTatman, and Courage. The other streamers welcomed him to the platform openly. They even discussed how tipping works on YouTube.
Ninja not yet in an exclusive contract
The 1.5-hour stream peaked at around 150,000 viewers. The average viewer count is lower at around 110,000.
However, that is still a huge number for a surprise stream. There is a problem though. His presence on YouTube might be shortlived.
According to gaming insider Rod “Slasher” Breslau, the streamer has not signed an exclusive contract with YouTube yet.
There are negotiations between Blevins and other streaming platforms as well. But, it is not yet a done deal.
sources: Ninja is currently in negotiations with streaming platforms and no exclusive deal has yet been signed, including YouTube. today's YouTube live stream from Ninja is all on his own. maybe he'll stream on Twitch too.
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) July 8, 2020
Despite the YouTube stream, there is still a chance that Ninja might give it a shot on other platforms. A surprise stream may happen on Twitch as well.
Mixer shutdown makes pro streamers free agents
Ninja is currently a free agent ever since Microsoft announced the Mixer shutdown. Facebook Gaming will absorb Mixer.
Despite the merging of the two platforms, he and other popular streamers left the platform.
The Mixer shutdown came in as a surprise. The streaming platform made headlines last year when it acquired two of the biggest names in the industry.
Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Ninja were acquired by the company for around US$25 million.
The Microsoft and Facebook Gaming team stated that the two free agents are free to go everywhere.
According to Vivek Sharma, head of Facebook Gaming, “it is up to them and their priorities.”
Will Ninja comeback to Twitch?
The breakup between Ninja and Twitch is not as smooth as butter. When the news of Ninja transferring to Mixer came up, Twitch started to use his channel to promote other streamers.
There was an issue regarding obscene ads being played on Ninja’s channel as well. Those instances led to a bad breakup within the two parties.
Disgusted and so sorry. pic.twitter.com/gnUY5Kp52E
— Ninja (@Ninja) August 11, 2019
Ninja was not able to grow his brand through Twitch as well. When Mixer came in, the streamer got all the opportunities to nurture his career.
With that being said, it is unlikely that Ninja will go back to Twitch. Unless there is a huge deal between the two, his 14 million followers on Twitch might not see him on the platform again.
Dr Disrespect sheds light on the situation
Twitch streamer, Dr Disrespect, is on the news recently. He was permanently banned on Twitch with no definite reason yet.
Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm IV shared his thoughts on the situation surrounding the two popular streamers.
According to him, Shroud has a hardcore community on Twitch. Meanwhile, Ninja took on the Fortnite hype train back then.
Since a lot of Fortnite players are on the younger age bracket, YouTube is more accessible to them. Building a community on YouTube will be easier for him as well.
Nonetheless, it is pretty sure that Ninja still has a large community to back him up. Fortnite is still the largest battle royale game. His loyal followers continue to be there through thick and thin.
Images used courtesy of Ninja/Facebook