Twitch has raised the prices of subscriptions in the United States and other markets and users are unhappy with the change.
Twitch has had a rough first half of 2024. Alongside the usual roundup of controversial bans, controversial non-bans, and interpersonal drama, the boardroom celebrated the new year by laying off over 500 employees. This came after it laid off 400 employees in March 2023. It also had to drop its planned revenue cap after content creators expressed outrage at the profit split compared to other platforms.
Even after making changes to placate streamers, it didn’t stop some high-profile creators from leaving the platform. Imane “Pokimane” Anys, long one of Twitch’s most recognizable names, left the platform in January 2024 citing a toxic culture and lack of opportunities. Now, Twitch is making another controversial announcement.
Twitch raising subscription prices in United States, New Zealand after Canada and UK price hikes
As of July 11, the price of a Twitch subscription for users in the United States will go from $4.99 to $5.99.
The price being raised follows a similar move that was made in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. These changes were first implemented on March 28. Ahead of this, Twitch community head Mary Kish and Twitch CMO Mike Minton confirmed the plan to raise prices in other markets including the United States.
While the price hikes have been met with frustration, they’re also comparatively small. All three tiers of subscriptions in Turkey roughly quadrupled in price in 2024. In Turkey’s case, this is likely in part due to the country’s currency going on a downward trend. Steam also raised prices for the country in November 2023.
Why is Twitch raising subscription prices?
Twitch is likely raising subscription prices due to continued losses and to mobilize users toward Twitch Turbo, something the CEO acknowledged earlier this year.
In a Q&A stream after the company laid off 35% of its workforce, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy admitted that the platform is losing money. He states “Amazon has been extremely supportive of Twitch,” signifying that Amazon currently operates Twitch at a loss. Clancy also states that the company is “larger than it needs to be” for its size.
In addition to the 400 people Twitch laid off in March 2023, the company announced it would end operations in South Korea in December 2023, citing the country’s high operation costs. This has forced streamers to either get creative or move to a different country to continue their careers.
Raising subscription prices passes the operational costs onto consumers and is potentially also designed to steer more people toward Twitch Turbo. Twitch Turbo offers viewers the ability to go completely ad-free across all channels, with Twitch receiving 100% of the money. This lets Twitch cut streamers out of the transaction entirely, something the company has been moving toward for some time now.
The move also comes over repeated attempts to improve its ability to serve ads. Over recent years, the company has implemented numerous policies to force users to watch more ads and to increase the value of ads on Twitch. Users and some streamers have pushed back against many of these policies. Twitch has reversed some of its decisions, but it’s extremely unlikely that these price hikes go away,