Imane “Pokimane” Anys announced earlier this week she was leaving Twitch and has taken to her podcast to explain why.
In short, her exclusivity deal with the Amazon-owned streaming platform came to an end and Pokimane decided not to renew the contract. “The end of an era,” she posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Twitch has been my home for a decade…but it’s time to say thank you for all the memories and love during my League, Fortnite, and Among Us days.”
It means Twitch – a platform derided for its lack of diversity – has just lost one of its most popular and high profile female streamers and, on her podcast series Don’t Tell Anyone, she detailed her concerns about the platform.
Pokimane firstly noted that Twitch no longer signs exclusivity deals like it used to, meaning she has more room for growth if she no longer streams exclusively on the platform. She is grateful, though, for the contracts she has had with Twitch.
Further, she lamented the male-dominated community, stating Twitch has “regressed a lot” – especially with “the rise of so much manosphere, red pill bullshit – I feel like that stuff has flourished within the male-dominated livestreaming sphere”.
“During the pandemic there were so many people watching, streaming and caring about games,” she said. “There were so many more girls, there was such diversity in the demographic. And I felt so much more seen and heard. And I was like, ‘Wow, this is what I’ve always wanted for streaming.'”