Credit: Microsoft
The service will close, and partners will be transitioned over to Facebook Gaming.
It’s been a little over four years since Microsoft launched Mixer, their very own streaming platform designed to compete with the likes of Twitch, Facebook Gaming, and YouTube Gaming. It managed to secure backing from some very notable streamers, and manage to accrue a surprisingly close-knit community during its tenure. Unfortunately, that tenure is officially on borrowed time.
Microsoft announced today that it has begun the process of shuttering Mixer, due primarily to a new partnership with Facebook Gaming. Can’t be running your own streaming platform when you partner with one of your biggest competitors after all. All existing Mixer streamers and users will be transitioned over to Facebook Gaming, with Mixer Partners being granted free partner status with Facebook Gaming and monetized channels granted free eligibility for Facebook’s Level Up program. Any regular users that have Ember balances and/or paid subscriptions will be reimbursed in the form of Xbox gift credit.
Microsoft is teaming up with Facebook primarily to begin building infrastructure for the upcoming Project xCloud. Supposedly, Facebook Gaming will receive xCloud integration, so viewers can immediately begin playing any game a streamer is currently playing. “I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has,” Microsoft’s head of gaming Phil Spencer said.
Several prolific streamers that use Mixer have expressed some disappointment with Mixer’s closure, with many not yet confirming whether they’ll accept the migration to Facebook Gaming or move their brand back to Twitch or elsewhere. One of the most famous Mixer streamers, Richard Tyler Blevins, better known as Ninja, tweeted a thank-you message to his fans, but kept his future plans under wraps for the moment.
I love my community and what we built together on Mixer. I have some decisions to make and will be thinking about you all as I make them.
— Ninja (@Ninja) June 22, 2020
The migration process has already begun, but Mixer will still be running as a service until July 22.
