Microsoft announced today that the company will be shutting down its streaming site Mixer on July 22 and will partner with Facebook Gaming moving forward.
The shutdown starts today, with a transition plan laid out by Microsoft for Mixer streamers. Mixer Partners will be granted partner status with Facebook Gaming, and the platform will honor and “match all existing Partner agreements as closely as possible,” according to the blog detailing the change.
Several big-name streamers, such as Ninja and Shroud, moved from Twitch exclusively to Mixer this year. On Twitter, popular streamer King Gothalion announced he would be moving to Facebook; earlier this year, he signed a deal to stream exclusively on Mixer.
It also appears some Mixer streamers, employees, and partners weren’t given a heads up about the shutdown. Kotaku has reached out to Mixer and affected streamers for more information.
(Update: June 22, 3:57 PM) About an hour after the news broke, Ninja tweeted his first public comment about the shutdown. He explained he now has “...some decisions to make..” and didn’t give any more details about his streaming plans moving forward.
(Update 2: June 22, 6:03 PM)?When asked if the company had warned or talked to any streamers before announcing the shutdown Microsoft responded that it does “not discuss the specifics of personnel and partner decisions.”
Currently, many of the streamers on Mixer’s front page are streamers worrying about their futures and trying to figure out their next steps in real-time. Some I’ve seen are asking their chat for advice on which service to move to next. Many seem angry about the lack of warning.
The Verge reports that many of these big streamers, such as Ninja, will be free to return to Twitch or go to another platform. Vivek Sharma, the head of Facebook Gaming, told The Verge the decision on where Mixer streamers go next will be “up to them and their priorities.”
In Mixer’s blog, titled “The Next Step For Mixer,” the company explained the thinking behind the shutdown:
Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the platform for them as quickly and broadly as possible. 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, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform. To better serve our community’s needs, we’re teaming up with Facebook to enable the Mixer community to transition to Facebook Gaming. This is a key part of a broader effort that Xbox and Facebook Gaming are embarking on, bringing new experiences and opportunities to the entire world of gaming.
Mixer will continue to operate until July 22. At that point, all apps and sites connected to Mixer will redirect to Facebook Gaming.