Imane “Pokimane” Anys is leaving Twitch exclusivity in a move she calls “the end of an era.” Anys teased the move a message on X Tuesday: “Twitch has been my home for ten years…,” she wrote, “but it’s time to thank you for all the memories and love during my Competition, Fortnite& Among us to dawn.” The word immediately spread on social media as people started asking: but where is she going?
Anys is not canceling her Twitch contract, which means she is free to stream whenever and wherever she wants. On her podcast, don’t tell anyone with pokimane, she discussed the details of exclusivity contracts that determine how much and where a broadcaster will stream. “While these contracts are done in a way that is great for peace of mind and feeling like you have a safety net as long as you stream a certain number of hours, they do put you in the headspace of prioritizing streaming versus how good the content is . That’s what it is,” says Anys. It also takes away from efforts on other platforms, she said.
Everyone will be streaming on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and yes, maybe even Twitch, she said. But she will also continue to make YouTube videos and create TikToks. “I want to feel free to participate in what I like,” said Anys.
Twitch competitor Kick has snapped up some of Twitch’s most high-profile stars, such as Félix “xQc” Lengyel and Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa. But Anys had done that before called the streaming platform ‘cringe’, She says she “wouldn’t compromise her morals and ethics” for the kind of money Kick is offering. (Lengyel was reportedly offered a $100 million deal to move to Kick.) On the YouTube side, the Google-owned platform has signed streamers like Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Lily “LilyPichu” Ki and Ludwig “Ludwig” Ahgren in major deals. .
Anys has moved away from livestreaming video games on Twitch in recent years, but she hasn’t stopped completely. Instead, she expanded the type of content she created and opted for more “lifestyle” content. On YouTube, Anys posts video blog-like content, while she occasionally streams on Twitch and posts short videos on TikTok. She also recently expanded into snacks with her Myna cookie line.
Twitch is where Anys started her career in 2013 streaming games like League of Legends. She amassed 9.3 million followers while streaming on the platform. In 2020, Anys went live on Twitch with US House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) to play Among us and talking about voting – one of the most watched streams of all time. Anys is also known for co-founding OfflineTV in 2017 with William “Scarra” Li and Chris Chan; the successful content house was a space for the group (and some other members) to live, work and create content together. Since that push away from Twitch, Anys seems bigger than ever.
The good news for Twitch is that Anys can technically still streaming on Twitch – new simulcast rules announced last year allow streamers to broadcast on multiple platforms simultaneously. Of course, there are still rules to follow: Twitch doesn’t want streamers to use the simulcast rules to drive traffic to other platforms. CEO of Twitch Dan Clancy spoke about the streaming service’s activities after massive layoffs in early January, and reiterated that Twitch is not profitable. It hasn’t been able to keep up with big deals from rival platforms – and said Twitch is no longer offering big deals to big streamers. “The cost of retaining these streamers would have far exceeded the revenue generated from them,” Clancy said. “We have been very clear about that. We don’t want to do that.”