With the arrival of autumn, top American streamers Swagg, TimTheTatman, and DrLupo announced their departure from exclusive contracts with YouTube and their return to Twitch. While TimTheTatman and DrLupo will stream on both platforms simultaneously, Swagg is currently focusing exclusively on Twitch.
Their return to Twitch coincided with the beta test of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which both streamers actively participated in. Viewers received Twitch Drops (cosmetic items such as skins, charms, and stickers) during these streams, significantly boosting their viewership. Swagg’s first Twitch stream in two years peaked at over 16,100 viewers, mirroring his pre-YouTube numbers and demonstrating strong audience loyalty.
TimTheTatman’s results are even more notable. Streaming on both platforms on September 1, his YouTube stream peaked at about 20,900 viewers, while his Twitch stream attracted over 31,700 viewers. Despite last streaming on Twitch in August 2021, his viewership has now surpassed his YouTube numbers.
DrLupo’s return was marked by streams of Escape From Tarkov. On his first day of multi-streaming, his YouTube viewership remained steady, but his Twitch numbers were impressive, peaking at over 15,400 viewers.
Swagg, TimTheTatman, and DrLupo are part of a trend of streamers returning to Twitch after leaving YouTube. Recently Sykkuno, and other prominent creators have made similar moves. Even Ludwig, who is quite successful on YouTube, started co-streaming on Twitch — for this he changed the name of his channel to Mogul Moves.
Meanwhile, many Twitch streamers are exploring multi-streaming on YouTube or Kick. This shift suggests that the "platform war" may be ending, and new multi-million dollar exclusive contracts with streamers are unlikely in the near future.
