A 25,000-Square-Foot Mansion in California, a classy private jet, Stephen Curry’s earnings this year, Drake’s endorsement deal with Stake.com, and xQc’s recent contract with Kick all surprisingly have one thing in common. What may that be, you ask? They are all estimated to be valued at a whopping one hundred million USD!
No, you didn’t read that wrong. xQc, originally Félix Lengyel, has just signed a record-breaking contract with Kick, a rival platform of Twitch – the biggest live-streaming platform at present. xQc has consistently been Twitch’s top streamer for a few years, so this bit of news does make readers do a double take at first. Of course, the one hundred million USD part is a major factor of surprise.
The unforeseen move by xQc has left audiences wondering what initiated the sudden switch and if Kick has perks to offer for all the other Twitch streamers to be convinced to follow suit.
Just to put how much of a big deal this contract it into perspective, this is one the biggest deals in entertainment history and THE biggest deal in live-streaming history! Keep scrolling to get an idea of the contract specifics and what this means for the future of Twitch and the streaming community.
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xQc-Kick Deal: Everything We Know
Félix Lengyel is known for his three-year reign as the most-watched streamer on Twitch under the screenname xQc. He streams himself playing video games and also hosts “reality shows.” He is a Canadian Twitch star who began streaming on the platform at the age of 19 before going into esports and returning to streaming on Twitch again. He has made significant progress, no doubt, but is quite infamous owing to his toxic behavior, controversial activities, and statements. Nevertheless, he has acquired millions of watchers and fans over the years, now clearly one of the most successful streamers so far.
Twitch is an American live-streaming service under Amazon and is the biggest live streaming as of now. Although it was initially centered around gaming content, esports, speedruns, gameplay, and more, it has evolved into something much bigger, with categories that go beyond gaming. Twitch is now increasingly infamous for its policies ad high revenue charge, something that Kick seems to have an advantage in.
On June 16th, xQc announced his two-year contract with the streaming platform Kick through Twitter, posting a video with the caption “IT’S TIME.” The video begins as a montage with a voiceover of Félix thanking his fans for their support over the years. The video then transitions into a skit-like scene that, in a nutshell, lets the audience know that Félix will be posting the same content as himself, except on Kick!
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IT'S TIME pic.twitter.com/jHRWkn5WEP
— xQc (@xQc) June 16, 2023
Now, Kick is one of Twitch’s most recent rival streaming platforms and is known for its contracts that cater to streamers rather than the platform itself. The platform is backed by Bijan Tehrani, Ed Craven, and Trainwreckstv. In a groundbreaking strategical move, Kick has brought over its rival Twitch’s biggest asset through a two-year non-exclusive contract that has a value of around seventy million USD. However, xQc’s agent Ryan Morrison has stated that when incentives are taken into account, the contract is expected to come up to one hundred million USD, which he claims is a higher deal than most “professional athletes and megastars” receive.
The big question is if xQc is ever coming back to Twitch again. Since his contract with Kick is non-exclusive, he is still allowed to stream on Twitch by all means. Besides, xQc himself confirmed that he would still stream on Twitch, just not as frequently. Many doubt if the star will be active on Twitch again despite reassurances due to the possible hourly wage policy and other perks Kick plans on bringing in.
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What Does This Deal Mean For Twitch And The Rest Of The Streaming World?
Kick is evidently having the best time ever, and Twitch is, well, desperately trying its best to keep its streamers from switching over to Kick. Let’s be honest. Everyone saw this coming. Especially with Twitch temporarily switching over to the fifty-fifty revenue split, streamers are losing interest in the platform and are looking elsewhere for a platform with better, streamer-friendly conditions.
A major difference between Twitch and Kick is that Kick allows more mature-themed content and gambling, among many other things. xQc also brought up this point, saying that Kick is allowing him to try and do things that he hasn’t been able to do before. He also expressed how thrilled he is to take this opportunity and “maximize it into new creative and fresh ideas” in the coming years.
Another essential difference between the two platforms lies in the revenue split. Kick has a very generous revenue split where five percent goes to Kick, and ninety-five percent goes to the creator. However, Twitch isn’t so generous in its ways. In fact, for a lot of its streamers, the revenue is split fifty-fifty, and for its larger streamers, there is a seventy-thirty split, but only for the first one hundred thousand USD earned annually. In addition to Kick’s generous revenue split, it is also planning an hourly wage scheme that will apply to all streamers, regardless of the viewers they bring in.
Just like xQc, several popular streamers on Twitch are switching to Kick after realizing the potential Kick carries in boosting their income and careers. For instance, popular streamer Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa, known for her ASMR and NSFW streams, has switched over to Kick a day after xQc. Other popular streamers who have joined Kick include Destiny, Corinna Kopf, and GMHikaru.
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Kick’s CEO has stated how excited he is for xQc to join hands with Kick and “redefine himself in an environment where his creativity is celebrated, and he is treated as an adult.” He also pointed out that the deal marks a change in the industry and that it could be a way for all streamers to finally have their future strictly under their control.
Ryan Morrison also commented on how remarkable the deal is in the current streaming situation, saying that the deal is a “wake-up call” for creators to realize that they have a choice. He asserted that the deal would usher in a new era where the creator is “at the heart of the experience.”
Kick still has a long way to go to really kick Twitch off its throne, but the way that the platform is pursuing bigshot streamers with lucrative deals is a great way to start. Just through xQc’s switch, Kick has earned over a million new streamers. While Twitch streamers are struggling to continue their streams due to Twitch’s non-creator-friendly policies, Kick’s fresh new perspective is definitely working in terms of grabbing the attention of Twitch streamers. Kick surely has attacked at the right time with just the right strategy.
This still does not guarantee a complete shift of streamers into Kick, considering that Twitch still has the most users and audience. Then again, that could change any day now!
This deal is already initiating changes in the streaming community and will only continue to do so until there is a huge shift in the streaming world. Stay tuned as we are undoubtedly about to be greeted with surprises every day in the streaming world from now!
Also Read: What Happened To Kai Cenat? The Twitch Streamer Opens Up On Allegations Against Him!
