Towards the end of June was a whirlwind for the gaming community.
From Mixer shutdown (props to Facebook Gaming for integrating the displaced partners into their platform), DrDisrespect’s alleged permanent ban on Twitch, to Fedmyster getting kicked out of OfflineTV for sexual allegations towards his fellow squad members LilyPichu and Yvonne, no one could have seen all these coming.
Here are some of the news in the online world you might have missed out on for the past month!
Considered as one of the most shocking moments in streaming history, and perhaps the internet’s greatest mystery— Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm was banned on his home platform Twitch, apparently for good.
There’s no specific reason has been publicly stated yet, and an alleged small circle of those who apparently do know what’s going on aren’t spilling the beans. But DrDisrespect reassured his fans and thanked them for the continuous support on Twitter:
“Champions Club, Twitch has not notified me on the specific reason behind their decision… Firm handshakes to all for the support during this difficult time.”
In a rather surprising announcement, Twitch’s rival platform Mixer is slated to be shut down— with Microsoft aiming to partner with Facebook Gaming instead.
The Microsoft-owned live streaming service is scheduled to bid farewell on July 22, and will team up with Facebook Gaming to help partnered Mixer stars and streamers a new home.
In an official blog post, the Mixer team says:
“It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now.”
“So we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.”
This is not a drill— David Dobrik recently confirmed his return to YouTube vlogs after an appearance on the Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. His revelation serves as good news to his fans who are wondering (and waiting patiently) about his return to making videos on the platform.
In the case of David Dobrik, he’s unable to continue his famous YouTube vlogs mostly focusing around himself and his gang hanging around Los Angeles. The YouTuber is well-known for his daily antics such as meeting strangers and being an overly sociable person in his videos.
During his recent interview on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, the host brought up the subject on the future of his videos— where Dobrik gave a hint as to when the vlogs will come back.
He also revealed that he didn’t want to post watered-down videos of his usually outgoing vlogs. Fortunately, the YouTuber has already set a timeline to keep up and begin posting again.
“I actually set a goal for myself. There’s a bar down the street that we always go to and, once it’s reopened at full capacity, I will start making videos again.”
As if 2020 couldn’t get more bizarrely confusing, Belle Delphine comes out of hiatus to announce her return in a YouTube video appropriately titled “IM BACK.”
The YouTube music video is Delphine’s way of saying hello once more to the online community. As a comeback video, it features the ever quirky Belle Delphine in her signature pink hair and a giant black bow. She’s seen playing around and dancing as pops of color fill the video.
Apparently, she was caught in an unknown injury that hindered the possibility of an even earlier online comeback.
Her sudden comeback is yet to be confirmed as a final one, though. Around November 2019, her fans rejoiced when she announced her supposed comeback but the excitement was rather short-lived as she went into hiatus once again after a comeback tweet and YouTube video.
Only time can tell this time around!
It didn’t take long for Shroud to reach a verdict on how Valorant is so much easier to play than CS:GO.
For the ex-pro CSGO player, the skill ceiling and potential in Valorant is relatively lower than what is needed in the latter. He initially dropped his first take on how Valorant is “incredible” and is turning out to be a game to bet on in the long run.
And for his recent take, Shroud believes that the Riot FPS title is attempting to reach people with no experience playing shooter games.
“This game is trying to reach people that don’t play [shooters],”
Although map knowledge, great aim, and fast movement prove to be an advantage in Valorant— he believes it is the agent abilities that makes it easier for people to play.
YouTube icon PewDiePie joins a long list of other prominent celebrities and influencers who raised money for the victims of police violence amid protests. Over a recent charity stream, he single handedly raised $160K to support the historic #BlackLivesMatter movement.
He revealed the generous contribution with the help of his ever-supportive community on a YouTube post:
“Today is a day that I just feel so damn grateful for so many things. An amazing wife, friends and family but also so damn proud of my audience on YT! We managed to raise over $106k + 10k (my contribution) to victims of police violence, the sentencing project and for small business effected by looting/riots.”
The internet star didn’t belittle every donation he received from fans, no matter how much the amount was. Big or small, it deserved the same level of gratefulness on his end.
“That’s a massive impact, THANK YOU to every single donation that was made and to everyone that came to watch. Huge PP! 👊FLOOR GANG.”
Earlier in April, the ever-famous San Diego Comic-Con 2020 was officially cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Comic Con International decided to run their own online version of the iconic pop culture event.
Comic-Con @ Home The concept was first teased in May by Comic-Con International. The event hopes to combine the traditional convention experience with the feeling of comfort and safety within one’s home.
From the official release, SDCC aims to:
“deliver the best of the Comic-Con experience and a sense of its community to anyone with an internet connection and an interest in all aspects of pop culture.”
The event will be held on the original date planned for the canceled Comic Con, on July 22-26 2020.
In a surprising announcement, it seems like Twitch star Dafran is planning to retire from full-time streaming.
He has decided not to rely on streaming to make ends meet, and even joked he’ll follow his passion to “farm,” which means to get into agricultural study.
“It is time for a new chapter in my life. I am going to be starting on an education, that has to do with growing fruits, vegetables and etc.”
He clarifies this may not be the end of his streaming career, though. It’s just that he plans on no longer streaming on a regular basis like usual.
“This is not the end completely though, I will still stream for fun but rarely.”
Dafran once talked on stream how he wants to start farming strawberries at some point, so he may be serious in this endeavor.
Alarmingly, more and more Twitch streamers are raising concerns over permanent ban threats because of copyrighted music.
After the platform updated its terms of service, many popular stars are getting DMCA strikes and suspensions such as Macaiyla and JakenbakeLive who were given not only strikes, but also a 24-hour suspension.
Using a wrong piece of video or audio can land your channel a copyright strike. As a result, your videos can be demonetized and your channel may also be taken down— in a worst case scenario.
This particular issue didn’t affect Twitch streamers that much, up until the Amazon-owned live streaming platform updated their Terms of Service in regards to music.
As of writing, Twitch automatically mutes any copyrighted audio and video within VODs but this does not include muting clips. It has been a struggle for many creators to mass delete thousands of clips, but Twitch is already currently working on implementing an easier way to do so.
With these abrupt changes, future Twitch streams and clips may be a whole lot quieter!
Valve is planning to make some changes to Dota 2’s The International 10 battle pass after a series of complaints from the community. The prompt response is set in place only just under a week after actively considering feedback from players.
The changes focus on giving out more rewards for playing and leveling up the Battle Pass. This includes increasing the Guild contracts, general battle point rewards, and Sideshop gold.
Listed below are the exact changes that Valve implemented in the game’s update:
- Wagering battle point rewards are now increased by 50 percent.
- Guild contract battle point rewards are now increased by 100 percent.
- Sideshop gold for Recycling is increased by 65 percent.
- Sideshop gold for Guild contracts and upgrades are increased by 100 percent.
Developers revealed that they seriously take into account the feedback they get from their community to improve everyone’s over-all gaming experience.
