In a surprising turn of events today, Microsoft announced that it is shutting down Mixer and partnering with Facebook Gaming. The company has invited its current streamers and viewers to join it on the new platform.
Why is Mixer shutting down?
Mixer was a streaming site, similar to Twitch and Facebook Gaming. It seemed like it was starting to take off last year when it successfully managed to bring popular streamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek from Twitch over to its platform. It seems like this wasn’t enough, however, to keep the platform alive.
In its statement today, Mixer writes: “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.”
Microsoft’s new partnership with Facebook Gaming offers both platforms a chance to expand their fanbase and grow their communities. This is a business move from which both parties hope to benefit financially.
What will streamers do
Since Mixer is shutting down, streamers can now choose other platforms to stream on. Microsoft will, of course, encourage them to move to Facebook Gaming, but they will be free to stream where they want. Twitch and YouTube are other options for streamers.
For popular streamers like Ninja and Shroud, Twitch seems like the obvious option. Other streaming platforms may try to offer them big contracts, however, as Mixer did previously, to stream on their platform. Expect to hear more from the streamers themselves soon.
https://twitter.com/WatchMixer/status/1275134189738713088?s=20
As of right now, it looks like we will be saying goodbye to Mixer. The streaming platform never quite saw the success that Twitch did, and Microsoft is going to give Facebook Gaming a chance. Stay tuned for more information as it comes to light.
