Microsoft Bribes Ninja Into Streaming Exclusively on Mixer

Did you all know that Microsoft has its own streaming platform?

I didn’t either. It’s called “Mixer”, and it has barely a fraction of the streaming market it can call its own, with about 3 percent of all streams worldwide being watched on it. It’s not really a big deal, sort of like the Google Plus of the streaming world, but Microsoft is hoping to change that.

So they rolled up their sleeves and they opened up their wallets because they were able to bribe Ninja – yes, that Ninja, the #1 streamer in the world worth millions of dollars – into abandoning Twitch and switching to become a Mixer exclusive.

He made an announcement over Twitter, if you care to watch it:

“I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but as of today, I will be streaming exclusively on Mixer. I feel like this is a really good chance to get back in touch with my roots and really remember why I fell in love with streaming in the first place.”

That’s probably a lie.

Microsoft has shown an extreme willingness to use its financial clout in recent years in order to get their way: this is probably best illustrated by their almost insatiable appetites for studios, purchasing the likes of Obsidian, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory… not unlike Epic Games, the studio behind the game Ninja clawed to fame with. But the amount of money they must have offered Ninja to take on this deal must have been absolutely staggering, considering this dude was raking in literal millions on Twitch.

If that investment will pay off, however, remains a bigger mystery. Most of Ninja’s fans don’t seem to be the kind who are terribly loyal to the platform itself, and will probably make the jump happily. But I’m sure some will be lost in the process, which means there may be a chance for someone else to claim the Twitch crown.

Exciting times, maybe?