Ninja, the owner of the most followed channel on Twitch, has announced he is taking a “break”.
Yesterday (September 1) he announced “big things” were coming ahead of a two-hour stream. Following that, he tweeted “I just need a break…I don’t know when I will be back, or where.”
Following the announcement, Ninja’s other social media platforms displayed the same text, and updated his username to “user not found” though his YouTube channel is still intact.
I just need a break…I don't know when I will be back, or where
— User Not Found (@Ninja) September 1, 2022
His Twitch channel is also no longer verified, meaning he’s no longer a partner with the platform, with some fans suggesting his exclusivity deal with Twitch has also come to an end.
Earlier this month, Twitch changed its partner agreement to allow streamers more flexibility over which rival platforms they could use.
It comes as another top Twitch streamer Pokimane confirmed she was taking a step back from the platform, and will be focusing on other social media sites like TikTok and Instagram.
In her Why I Took A Break + What’s Next For Me video, Imane “Pokimane” Anys said she initially took the month-long break because she was “feeling burnt out and tired of reading the same annoying comments.”
“I’ve played almost every large, trendy game,” she continued. “I hope it doesn’t sound big-headed of me to say, but nowadays when I see things on Twitch, it kinda feels like ‘been there, done that.’ I just don’t want to participate in the rat race of streaming.
“There’s such a pressure on streamers to follow every trend, to capitalise on viewership, to stream longer than the guy next to them,” Pokimane explained. “It’s just a hyper-competitive industry. But ultimately, the reason I say this is because I’m just at a point in my life that it doesn’t feel creatively fulfilling to feed into that anymore.”
In other news, Microsoft has officially confirmed the Xbox Game Pass Family & Friends plan, which will allow up to five people to share a subscription.
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