Several LGBTQIA+ streamers have expressed disappointment over how Twitch handled this year’s Pride Month celebrations.
Twitch created a team of 55 LGBTQIA+ creators which were featured live on the front page of the website, and they also created a Pride front page recommendation shelf.
However, some streamers noted that this did not benefit them. Both Warwick and ReadySetBen told EuroGamer that their viewership did not increase.
“Truth be told it was very disappointing, it was lacklustre in comparison to some of the previous ones,” ReadySetBen said. “This year, you were there but you were underneath other shelves, you had to find queer people. You did appear on recommended shelves, but it’s always people you already follow. It’s so hard to find new creators with that.”
Warwick agreed that the shelf wasn’t visible enough on the homepage.
“If they want to support Pride Month, they need to make it front and centre,” they said. “I feel like Twitch wants to support but they feel like that if they put it front and centre then they will get more of a backlash.
“I feel like they should change their outlook and change the front page and go ‘this is what we’re supporting, if you don’t like it this isn’t a platform for you’. Maybe there’s a part there where they don’t want to lose potential viewers but are they the viewers that we want supporting these communities?”
Twitch director of community marketing and production Mary Kish explained that including more streamers was intended to “allow more people to feel that value of what Pride is and see that reflected in the community”, but acknowledged that the website added too many creators to the shelf, which meant that they didn’t all have increased traffic.
“We are still learning and adapting the shelf to see what is the key amount of creators that will allow everybody to see an influx in their traffic, their follows, their subs, while also ensuring that we’re doing this at scale,” she added.
In addition to featuring LGBTQIA+ creators, Twitch encouraged streamers to raise funds for charities that support the LGBTQIA+ community. Stream team Transtopia hosted Twitch Prom, which raised over $11,000 for GLSEN.
The OutLoud: Raising Voices concert was also streamed live on Twitch as part of the website’s Pride Month celebrations.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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