Twitch publicly apologizes on Twitter after widespread backlash to branded content policy

After several prominent streamers on the platform protested its new branded content policy, the official Twitter handle for Twitch has posted a thread apologizing for the recent update. Citing confusing language and a lack of proper communication, the thread claims their intention was not to throttle revenue streams for creators, as protestors have claimed.

Recognizing that soft-announcing these significant changes without any official statement or blog post or so much as a tweet has created a lot of confusion among both streamers and viewers, Twitch has gone full defensive and promised to do better next time.

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"We do not intend to limit streamers": Twitch claims to have no intention of restricting direct sponsorships, clarifies doubts with new branded content policy

The impact of the change to the branded content policy cannot be understated, with big names such as Asmongold, MoistCr1TiKaL, MrBeast, and others slamming the Amazon-owned platform for implementing what they described as anti-creator rules and regulations that might hinder the growth of streamers.

In the apology thread, however, the purple platform claims it did not intend to reduce direct sponsorships as they are essential to most streamers' revenue generation:

"We do not intend to limit streamers’ ability to enter into direct relationships with sponsors, and we understand that this is an important part of how streamers earn revenue."

They further clarified that their decision to explicitly ban burned-in video, audio, and display sponsored ads was not that different from the industry standards, describing it as quite "consistent with other services."

This comparison has been made by many industry experts, with many noting that while other platforms, such as YouTube, do restrict burned-in Video ads, Twitch's policy is much broader.

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"Expect a mass exodus": Twitter users are not happy with the apology

While it has acknowledged fumbling the announcement of the new policies, it's clear that most of the new rules are here to stay, and some users of Twitch are not happy with that either. Here are some general reactions to the Twitter thread.

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The Amazon-owned platform has endured problems with its users for quite a few months, starting with its controversial 50-50 split last year. With OTK and others threatening to leave the platform if the branded content policies are not reverted, only time will tell if the "mass exodus" occurs.