Covering Twitch News comes with some strange stories - and I'll certainly tell them all one day. But if you'd asked me at any point before I started streaming whether or not I'd be caught up in "Ara Ara" fear drama, I'd have looked at you quizzically! Now, I live an existence that not only knows what that means but how it could be used in a sexual context. Strange times! But, with that - let's jump into things!
Twitch News and Platform Stories
The most substantial piece of Twitch News is that Founder Badges will be getting a quality of life upgrade in early June. The update will allow creators to reassign Founders' Badges from banned or inactive people from your community. No details on what 'inactive' means just yet. Twitch is also doing a small experiment to test Monthly Recaps for viewers that will document their chat, time watched, most used emotes, and other stats.
Twitch also quietly updated its Terms of Sale documentation, mainly detailing changes for those in the EU, EEA, and UK. They also made a small change to Host documentation that says, "The channel hosting you needs to be live with at least 3 viewers for a notification to appear." Worth noting!
Lastly, the departure of long-term staff continues as Twitch lost five notable figures. Loren Piretra (VP of Creator and Influencer Marketing), Mark Cerqueira (a Director of Engineering), Carla del Castillo (Director of Content & Partnerships, LATAM), Tyler Nosenzo (Director, Partner Development), and Kevin Lawler (Director of Community Partnerships, NA).
My take: Established staff leaving is notable; the new hires are unknowns, so it feels consequential. I assume it's just the nature of the corporation going more corporate/Silicon Valleyesque. That said, I'm not sure if there will be much of a Partner team when all is said and done—just a feeling.
That's all the big Twitch stories from the week, but there's plenty more below that you'll get access to by joining the mailing list for free!
