Twitchcon Rotterdam Parties, Power-Ups, YouTube AB Thumbnails, and Kai Cenat NA Record

Hello! Two announcements to kick off this week's recap. First, for those who like the newsletter but would love to listen to it instead—you're in luck! Starting today, about 15-20 minutes after this newsletter goes out, I'll go live on YouTube and Twitch to read through the newsletter! There will also be a short Q&A session at the end, with priority for Premium members!

Second, I'm now posting updates on Threads! After nearly a year, I decided to check it out again and was pleasantly surprised with how much it has improved since launch. That means you can now get crucial updates on Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky!

And with that, let's jump into the recap! (Or see you shortly on stream!)

Twitch News

A new feature called Power-Ups launched this week, featuring the ability to make big emotes, put effects around your text, or launch on-screen emotes. All of these are paid features that cost Bits. Creators can choose the price (max $100) but cannot disable them on their channels. That lack of choice spawned a UserVoice that quickly became the most upvoted Bits suggestion. xQc wasn't a fan.
Power-ups were broken for creators who use FFZ or the 7TV extension, but some issues may now be fixed.
The Clip Creator is getting an update that will automatically generate portrait clips, edit the layout, and allow you to choose to feature it immediately.
Clips will soon require you to click "Save Clip" to create a clip. A clip started without clicking that will not be created.
You can now claim a 7-day free trial of Twitch Turbo (but it will bill you immediately after the trial is up.)
Enhanced Broadcasting is being added to the next release of OBS in a public beta. Later this year, the H265 will be added to Enhanced Broadcasting. An idea might be to bring 1440p to the platform but limit it to subscribers.
Twitch's Twitch account lost its Partner checkmark and briefly turned on both Bits and Subs. They claim it was an account error that was fixed within a couple of hours (though Bits remain on).
CEO Dan Clancy's feed exposed him for watching lots of hot tub streamers. According to TheGrefg, Dan watches so much sexual content so he can report them when they don't use the sexual themes label.
Twitch Co-Founder Kevin Lin, in an interview, said he believes that live streaming will grow from collective viewing (such as TV.)
DJs who opt into the DJ Program will get a unique chat badge.
Twitch unbanned Sneako but also denied Destiny's appeal. Unusual decision.
A Forbes contributor wrote about how the new Twitch mobile app made him hate the platform he uses most.
Twitch will soon allow Partners to apply for Front Page slots again. Partners can apply only once monthly and, if accepted, cannot reapply for 90 days. Priority for special events. Content must NOT require a label, such as sexual themes or excessive tobacco use.