Everything from Twitchcon Rotterdam 2025, Discord Orbs, and LilSimsie Raises $1M

Hello all! Welcome to June (Happy Pride!) and the post-Twitchcon edition of the newsletter! It's packed this week, so I'll again avoid doing too much with the intro. BUT NEXT WEEK... Oooooo, next week, I'm going to write like a 300-word intro that you will have to read!

Also, welcome to all the new folks who subscribed last week! If you have any feedback, you can always reply to this, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! But with that, let's jump into the news.

🟪 TWITCHCON ROTTERDAM 2025 ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Starting this summer, Twitch will be testing a Rewind feature. You will need a channel subscription or a monthly Turbo subscription to use it.
• Twitch is making it easier to unlock Affiliate. Lower CCV, fewer days streamed, fewer hours, and half the followers will be needed to unlock payouts.
• Watch Streaks will be rolled out to all creators later this year, including a way to restore a streak if you missed a stream by watching the VOD or a clip.
• Starting today, 2K (1440p) streaming will enter public beta using Enhanced Broadcasting. These are the System Requirements for optimal performance. You can apply here.
• You'll soon be able to run your own Gift Sub promotions, using a new token-based currency system.
• Dual Format Streaming will allow you to stream in vertical (for mobile) and horizontal (for desktop) layouts.
• Mod View is releasing on Android in the coming days/weeks.
• Twitch has launched a Moderator Club Discord. You can apply here.
• Clip creation is getting less disruptive with a new popover experience that lets you continue watching the stream.
• Shared Chat on Mobile will soon be a standalone feature you can activate without using Guest Star.
• Twitch is adding Arabic Right-to-Left support next month.
• The Twitchcon Community Gift was a Canvas Bag, Two Pins, and Elden Ring Stickers. The Affiliate Gift was Iron on Patches. The Partner Gift was an Engraved Water Bottle. The Unity Guild Gift was a Leather Passport Holder.
• Twitch's full blog from Twitchcon can be found here.
• Twitchcon Rotterdam 2025 Merch Prices may give insight into what they'll cost at San Diego later this year.
• This is the Official Twitchcon Rotterdam 2025 Map.

🟪 TWITCH

• A 35% Shared Discount promotion for 5+ gifted subs starts on June 7th.
• Twitch is getting new categories centered around events like Dream Con and Summer Games Fest. Oddly, no Twitchcon category. Staff who read this, please fix this before San Diego.
• Twitch Support accidentally revealed they use AI to handle support requests.
• Twitch is experimenting with offering a First-Time Subscriber discount.
• CEO Dan Clancy has four tips for streamers on how to succeed. Clancy will be at Upfront Cologne on June 4th. Clancy will be at Cannes Live in mid-June.
• Elden Ring Nightreign launch had two unlockable badges and a global emote.
• Paula Palomino, Global Spanish Partnerships at Twitch, is speaking at the Digital Enterprise Show.
• Plaqueboymax briefly had a global emote: PBMMixtape.
• Twitch fixed the bug that reloaded chat.
• Amazon Ads is starting to promote the Sponsorship dashboard.

🟥 YOUTUBE

• AV1 for livestreams has now been officially launched on YouTube.
• YouTube Live is getting Side-by-Side ads for less disruptive stream viewing. The player minimizes to half the size and mutes the player while the ad plays, then goes back to normal after the ad is played or skipped.
• YouTube is improving the accuracy of Yellow Icon Monetization with an automatic review.

⬛ TIKTOK

• You may soon be able to go live with 600 Followers (down from 1000).
• TikTok Live is adding "Playbooks," though it is unclear what that means.

🟦 DISCORD & TWITTER X

• Discord Orbs is getting an official release. Less than 10% of users have access at the moment.
• Twitter is starting to roll out XChat to replace DMs.

🔲 OTHERS

• The Head of Instagram says live streaming on Instagram will not help creators grow a following.
• Binance is adding live streaming for cryptocurrency creators.
• Kick added new settings and toggles for Partner income and multistreaming.