Andrew Heinzman
After scooping up the exclusive rights to streaming titans like Ninja and Shroud, Microsoft Mixer is suddenly shutting its doors. Microsoft will close Mixer on July 22nd and move its existing partners to Facebook Gaming. Big names like Ninja can go wherever they want, and monetized Mixer streamers can join Facebook’s Level Up Program.
Even with the exclusive rights to famous streamers, Mixer can’t compete with other services. So instead of pouring money into the service, Microsoft is dropping it and partnering with Facebook to promote the xCloud gaming service, an Xbox equivalent of Stadia and NVIDIA GeForce NOW. Facebook’s large userbase, successful streaming platform, and powerful advertising tools make it the perfect place to show off a cutting-edge service like xCloud.
Facebook will honor the contracts of Mixer Partners and, as I mentioned earlier, extend Level Up Program membership to regular monetized streamers. But the company isn’t perusing exclusive contracts with Ninja, Shroud, or Mixer’s other big dogs. As noted by The Verge, Facebook Gaming doesn’t have a history of super-exclusive contracts. Even the platform’s top streamer, DisguisedToast, is allowed to stream non-gaming content on competing platforms.
Mixer ends for good on July 22nd, but the website’s streamers will transition to Facebook Gaming starting today. People with Mixer subscriptions or huge Ember balances should keep an eye on their account and its associated email address for an Xbox gift card.
