Pokimane re-signs with Twitch and takes a cheeky swipe at Ludwig while doing so
No big money move to Youtube Gaming.
Following speculation about whether she may be the latest stramer to take the Youtube Gaming dollar, streamer Imane 'Pokimane' Anys has instead confirmed she'll be re-signing with Twitch and stream exclusively on the platform. If you're wondering why a streamer's contract is news, well, Pokimane is the most popular female streamer on the platform, with 8.9 million followers, and the only one to place in the top ten. You could argue Twitch needs her more than vice-versa.
The news came of course via a stream, where Pokimane lauded the platform and particularly Twitch chat, while adding that she wouldn't be divulging any details about the deal including its length. It also came alongside the below tweet, which is something of a streamer in-joke:
about that platform announcement... instead of choosing between a red or purple car, I'M GIVING ONE AWAY ????and as always, https://t.co/nlEB4g7esa ???? pic.twitter.com/UrTBpYgBvTFebruary 8, 2022
The car giveaway is a reference to Ludwig Ahren's big-money move to Youtube Gaming late last year. It was accompanied by a daft skit posted to Twitter, where he gets out of a Twitch-tinged purple car moments before it explodes then gets into a red one. Ludwig rubbed-in the salt by making a cheeky comment about music copyright before announcing he would be moving exclusively to Youtube Gaming.
Pokimane's stunt is to give a car away to one of her fans rather than choosing between two cars: A reference to the fact she also has successful if subsidiary Youtube channels, and something that makes her look good next to a prankster wrecking a perfectly good car for a joke.
Streamer politics! Pokimane was most recently in the news for a rather ridiculous blowup with Twitch's number one streamer, Ninja, and his wife Jessica Blevins: Here's an explainer but, essentially, both sides talked a bit of trash and threatened to get the lawyers in, and now it seems to have blown over. As well as her streaming career, Pokimane has a bevvy of side-hustles: She acts, is the co-founder and CCO of a talent agency, is a member of the content group OfflineTV, has fashion industry ties, and even gets involved in politics. Twitch, for one, clearly wants her as one of its most prominent faces for some time to come.