"We will bring livestreaming back": Trainwreckstv joins streaming platform Kick as advisor, claims Twitch has lost its way

Tyler "Trainwreckstv" has announced that he is joining the streaming platform Kick as a non-owner advisor and non-exclusive streamer.

The content creator has been vocal about many Twitch policies that he considers to be anti-streamer and has been talking about starting his own streaming service for months.

In a Twitlonger shared on Twitter, Trainwreckstv revealed the reasons behind his decision to work with Kick, including its TOS policy, high subscription split (95-5), and tariff-free donations.

In the post, he levied many accusations against Twitch and claimed that he would be working towards a better streaming industry by joining Kick:

"We'll bring livestreaming back to what it was before Twitch lost its way. An authentic experience between viewers and streamers."

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"Kick will stand out": Trainwreckstv lays down his plans to create an alternate streaming platform that can take on Twitch and YouTube

Trainwreckstv has been questioning many of Twitch's policies ever since the platform restricted gambling in October this year. As a top slots streamer, he was not happy that he had to forego his sponsorships and the right to play slots on stream.

According to the streamer, Twitch has many other policies that harm content creators, including its controversial revenue split system. The purple platform has a 50/50 subscription split. For every $5 worth of subs, a streamer only gets $2.5. The rest goes to the streaming service.

This revenue split system has been widely criticized, with many pointing out that YouTube uses a 70-30 ratio and has no issues. However, Trainwreckstv believes this is not enough:

"Twitch’s only role is as a website host. Given their contribution, it is absurd that they take 50% of our income... They said it’s too expensive to run their website and that those costs have to pass onto the creators. Yet platforms like Youtube maintain a 70/30 split on subscriptions without issue. But I think 70/30 is still not enough – and that we can do even better."

According to him, Kick would only take 5% as its share of the revenue split from every creator. He also addressed how the platform will make it all work by using ads as the primary way to make money:

"Kick will partner with the world's leading advertisers to generate cash flow. I believe that creating the best incentives for creators will lead the best creators to Kick, and the best creators will bring the best advertisers. Kick will stand out because of how it takes care of its creators."

Trainwreckstv also announced that the bits donation system on Kick will not upcharge the donors:

"100% of all tips made on Kick, called "kicks", will go to the streamer. Same day withdrawal."

The content creator clarified that Kick would be redoing all of its Terms of Service, which will not have unambiguous clauses. This means streamers will know exactly what is allowed on the platform to avoid unnecessary bans that are difficult to explain:

"A TOS designed to be fair to streamers with clear rules on what’s okay and not okay. No ambiguous bans. Kick’s current TOS will be completely updated. The new TOS will include rules governing ethical gambling."

Finally, Trainwrekstv called on streamers to wait and see how Kick develops over the years before making their final decisions about the platform. He then claimed that Twitch had lost its way by not appreciating the very people who made it famous:

"Somewhere along the line, Twitch lost its grasp on reality. Twitch used to feel like a place made for us, by us. But Twitch built their empire off our backs and then forgot about us... Kick's team and I have a vision to make a livestreaming platform that's actually built first for creators."

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Community reactions to Trainwreckstv's announcement

Barring a few skeptics who think Kick might be too good to be true, Twitter users were largely happy about Trainwreckstv's announcement, with many hailing it as game-changing. Here are some of the reactions:

Twitch has been the subject of Trainwreck's criticism for months. A few weeks ago, the streamer told Kai Cenat and Adin Ross that the platform plays favorites by giving certain content creators, like HasanAbi and Pokimane, preference. Read more about his comments here.