Microsoft has announced that it is shutting down Mixer, the livestreaming platform it launched as a competitor to Twitch and YouTube Gaming. In its place, Microsoft says it has forged a partnership with Facebook Gaming, and hopes to allow Mixer creators to transition to Facebook Gaming as seamlessly 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,” the Mixer Team announced in a blog post published today. “To better serve our community’s needs, we’re teaming up with Facebook to enable the Mixer community to transition to Facebook Gaming.”
The news comes less than a year after Mixer began signing big-name streaming talent, bringing streamers like Ninja, Shroud, and others on board with presumably generous contract offers. Those partners are now apparently free to either move to Facebook or return to Twitch, according to reporting by The Verge and a tweet by Mixer partner Gothalion, posted about ten minutes after the announcement.
It appears the announcement of Mixer’s demise came as a surprise to many Mixer employees, who have said they only learned about the shutdown immediately before the news was made public.
Mixer Partners. Choose where the best fit is for you. This is such an impossible situation for most.
— Gothalion (@Gothalion) June 22, 2020
In April, a Streamlabs report indicated that Mixer had moved ahead of both Facebook Gaming and YouTube Gaming into second most-viewed platform behind Twitch, which remains by far the most popular streaming platform for games.
Mixer will remain active until July 22, at which point the page will redirect visitors to Facebook Gaming. According to an FAQ posted by Mixer, anyone with active Mixer Pro subscriptions at that time will be eligible to receive a $15 (or equivalent) credit on an Xbox Gift Card, which will automatically be applied to the associated Xbox account. Viewers who have active channel subscriptions will receive a $5 credit, and unspent embers will similarly be converted to Xbox credit.
Archived streams and VODs will only be available until July 22; after that, you’ll need to submit a written request to retrieve them. Microsoft says it is working with Facebook Gaming to expedite the process to onboard Mixer partners to Facebook Gaming, but it appears as though they’ll have to go through Facebook’s established process for the time being.
“We hope to see your continued positive, welcoming, and inclusive ideals continue on Facebook Gaming,” the Mixer team’s farewell note concludes.