Life After Twitch: Streamers Are Finding New Ways to Make Money and Avoid Burnout

Ludwig Ahgren set a record for the most subscribers ever on Amazon.com Inc.'s streaming platform for gaming, but nobody making a living on an online platform is immune to volatility. Ahgren used to chat with fans full time and broadcast himself playing Super Smash Bros. but he decided to devote a month to streaming. Each subscriber paid $5 to $25.

He lost all but 42,000 subscribers by the next month. It's how streaming works.

Live streamers such as Ahgren have been given the chance to build audiences and make media careers in ways that would have been impossible a decade ago. Performers need to make videos to keep viewers interested. Ahgren's actions after his subscriber base evaporated show how a few celebrity game streamers are looking to detach from this exhausting cycle and build more sustainable careers.

In November, Ahgren secured a multimillion-dollar exclusive deal with his main competitor in game streaming, YouTube. A dozen people are employed by him, who produce his content, handle merchandising, and perform other tasks. Ahgren is starting a company to provide technical infrastructure to other streamers. It will allow streamers to offer custom emoticons to fans and allow them to wager digital points on the outcomes of live videos. The company will allow third-party developers to create custom apps.

Many prominent streamers are looking to start ventures that don't rely on the daily grind. The gaming landscape has dramatically evolved from where it was.

Game streamers often struggle with overwork and end up looking for new ways to make money. OTK negotiates sponsorship deals between brands and its members.

Game streaming has become tamer, at least compared to its recent past, as it has become known for young, male performers engaging in sexist, racist, or homophobic behavior. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, its audience has exploded. Veteran performers can use their knowledge of the space to start companies like OTK that can do more with less. The brands that are eager to reach young, digitally native audiences are connected by these startups.

The entrepreneurs say they are charting their own course rather than following the same patterns as previous generations of media stars. Imane and Anys co-founded the company, which manages game-streaming talent. There wasn't a set structure or rulebook for Anys to turn to if she faced a new obstacle.

Performers who feel they have reached the ceiling on their preferred platforms are looking beyond entertainment. Siragusa, a star on both the subscription-based platform OnlyFans and the video game streaming site twitch, said last month that she was launching an agency for female content creators on both platforms. She has sunk $7 million into an inflatable pool-toy company, as well as buying gas stations and investing in 7-Eleven.

The entertainers she works with are ready to start their own businesses. She says that building a business as a true CEO is not for everyone, and that there are risks and opportunity costs that come with entrepreneurship.

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