Imane “Pokimane” Anys is one of the most recognizable faces on Twitch. The content creator got her start streaming on the platform in 2013, playing games like League of Legends. Over the past decade, she co-founded OfflineTV, a leading content creation group, and has amassed approximately 9.3 million followers on Twitch. The creator also appeared in the film Free guy and streamed Among us next to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in one of the most watched streams of all time. But recently she’s been expanding her presence on platforms beyond Twitch – and I’ve never seen her again.
Pokimane is at a crossroads in her career, as she branches off into an entirely new territory. In September, she said she would be streaming less on Twitch. In a video, Pokimane talked about Twitch’s “rat race” and said that chasing every trend was no longer satisfying. In the future, she wanted to create more lifestyle content and expand the platforms she publishes on. She has been more active on TikTok and Instagram since then. In light of these changes, Polygon has reached out to the creator about how things have been since this career change.
Pokimane’s current contract with Twitch hasn’t stopped her from building a presence on other platforms. Historically, she published other videos on her YouTube channel, such as moving videos and travelogues. However, her online presence has traditionally been through Twitch streaming. Even if the creator went viral on TikTok, it would be because a particularly endearing or funny moment was clipped from her stream and then redistributed through a huge ecosystem of fan and news accounts.
But now Pokimane has started posting more content specifically for TikTok, and the focus of that content has shifted. Instead of streaming gameplay videos, Pokimane shares more of her daily life. This could mean watching her try a side parting in her hair for the first time, lip syncing to Ice Spice and PinkPantheress’ new bop, or showing off her outfit for The Streamer Awards while participating in a TikTok trend. Since her first post in June 2019, she has amassed over 6.7 million TikTok followers.
Pokimane told Polygon that she approaches creating content for TikTok based on her own preferences. “I tend to approach the consumer first, in that I consume the kind of content I enjoy on a platform,” she said. “I look at what kinds of formats perform well most often and then reverse engineer it to my taste/what I want to make.”
As she expands to other platforms, her audience has also shifted. TikTok has become a defining platform for young users. According to a 2021 study by the Pew research center, 48% of US Americans aged 18 to 29 say they use the app. Another study of Pew published in 2022 showed that 67% of US teens use TikTok, with 16% saying they use it “almost constantly”. Compare this to Twitch, which was used by 20% of teens, according to Pew. According to the study, the platforms have significant demographic differences and teenage boys are “more likely” to use platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, while girls are more likely to use TikTok.
This is reflected in Pokimane’s work. Her publicist told Polygon that her audience on TikTok tends to be female compared to her audience on Twitch. That’s why Polygon asked Pokimane if her focus on creating content for TikTok was intentional – as the creator has mentioned how much she enjoys making content for girls – or if the female audience just came as a side effect of ramping up her presence on the newer platform. She told us it was both and that she has “a diverse audience”: “It seems like my audience is becoming more and more varied as I explore different interests and evolve as a creator and person.”
Moving into the lifestyle space on TikTok offers its own set of career opportunities in addition to games. Pokimane told Polygon that she has expanded her team to include experts in fashion, lifestyle and other spaces she wants to be a part of. In February, she entered into a paid partnership with Italian luxury brand Moncler and documented her trip to London Fashion week. TikTok is the most valuable platform for direct-to-consumer brandsaccording to a study by Triple Whale, and features like the Talent Manager Portal and the TikTok Creator Marketplace allow brands to search for creators who might fit their target audience.
As her interests and opportunities change, so do the challenges. She said it was fun to try something new, but that short content is “an entirely different beast” with its own trends and techniques. For her, every kind of content brings its own ups and downs.
“Streaming often takes more time and effort, but helps build a very deep connection with your audience. Alternatively, short content may take more planning but less time to film and reach more people, but it’s harder to establish that deep connection with your audience because they won’t spend as much time interacting with you,” said Pokemon.
It’s not the biggest change in the world, but it’s remarkable at a time when more and more popular streamers have left the platform for YouTube deals. Still, it now seems that Pokimane has found more balance as she continues to stream with lower hours and share more lifestyle content on TikTok.
“I think it’s only natural that creators who have been doing something for years want to try something new at some point,” she said. “I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a trend rather than a natural career progression. It’s like some Youtubers or Tiktokers become streamers after being on their original platform for years.