Popular Twitch streamer Asmongold says that it may be worth boycotting the platform, following an announcement restricting certain forms of advertising. On Tuesday morning, Twitch revealed new restrictions regarding how streamers on the platform could deliver advertisements to their audience. Asmongold, among others, sees this as an effort by Twitch to "monopolize more of streamers' income." He throws out the possibility of an organized boycott of Twitch, or outright leaving the platform entirely.According to newly updated Branded Content Guidelines being shared online, Twitch will be restricting how streamers can deliver their own advertisements on-stream. For example, "burned in" video ads, fullscreen ads that streamers play on their own stream are no longer allowed. Banner ads and audio ads are also disallowed. The only advertisement overlays Twitch says are allowed at all are logos that take up 3% or less of the screen. Other Twitch advertising, including product placement, links in chat, sponsored games, and product endorsement, are allowed. In a message posted on Twitter, Asmongold took a strong stance against the new guidelines. He says that while he doesn't say it lightly, he believed this is a situation where, "streamers should consider boycotting Twitch or moving to other platforms." He doesn't outright call for a Twitch boycott, and isn't confirming that he'll do one himself, but that's likely because the Twitch guidelines have yet to go into practice yet. There's still time for Twitch to make changes. It's still a very strong statement from one of Twitch's most successful partners, though.
Asmongold does also hint that he could be following through on his own threat. A hostile Twitter user responded to Asmongold's statement, saying, "Then do it." Asmongold responded in turn, saying, "Who's gonna tell him." It could be a hint that Asmongold is considering leaving Twitch, or it could simply refer to how he's left his main Twitch account dormant for over half a year until recently. Asmongold has long been a strong critic of Twitch, as well as other platforms. He's criticized Twitch's ban policies, VOD quality, and more. He's also successful enough that criticizing Twitch doesn't put his work in jeopardy, though.
It isn't just the limitations on how Twitch will allow streamers to share ads that Asmongold takes issue with, either, but also the kinds of content that can be advertised. Twitch also updated its list of prohibited branded content, banning ads for weapons, tobacco and cannabis-related products, medical products, and even political content. However, it does allow alcohol advertisements, as long as it's flagged as mature content. Asmongold responded to this with, "You can advertise alcohol but not politics? Get the **** out of here."
There are many very serious concerns being raised regarding Twitch's planned Branded Content Guidelines changes. While streamers like Asmongold will be impacted in some ways, event-based streams with sponsors aren't clear whether this means they'll no longer be able to stream on Twitch at all. Charity streams, esports tournaments, or presentations like The Game Awards all feature burned-in logo and video advertisements for sponsors. There's either more to the changes than meets the eye, or a major controversy is heading Twitch's way when the new guidelines go into effect on July 1.