Microsoft is closing down Mixer —the company’s live streaming platform for video games— and encouraging all users to migrate to Facebook Gaming.
Mixer had been trying to outcompete Twitch, the current leader in video game live streaming. But on Monday, Microsoft threw in the towel, citing struggles to sufficiently scale Mixer’s user base.
“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,” the company wrote in a blog post.
As a result, Microsoft is going to discontinue Mixer after July 22. Any unspent virtual credits in user’s accounts will be refunded with a promotional Xbox gift card, according to the company’s FAQ on the impending shutdown.
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Once July 23 arrives, all Mixer sites and apps will redirect to Facebook Gaming, another competitor to Twitch that's also been trying to build a bigger user base.
“Fans of Mixer streamers will find a welcoming community on Facebook Gaming,” Leo Olebe, Facebook’s director of game partnerships wrote in a post. “We’ll have lots more in the coming weeks, including a few special welcome packs for viewers who visit from Mixer.com.”
Going forward, Microsoft also plans on teaming up with Facebook Gaming on live streaming content. "This brings the ability to partner closely with the Xbox ecosystem, including future opportunities around Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud and more," Microsoft added.
Nevertheless, today’s news is pretty surprising; it was only a year ago when Microsoft signed Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and other professional gamers to exclusively stream on the Mixer platform. According to The Verge, Blevins and other professional gamers are now free to stream wherever they want.
To try and attract the streamers on Mixer, Facebook Gaming says it’ll match the previous partner agreements Microsoft signed with them as closely as possible. "We want to maintain as much consistency as we can for Mixer Partners during this change, and we’ll do everything we can to make the transition as easy as possible for those who decide to make the switch," Facebook added.
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