On the weekend of October 7, thousands of streaming influencers, fans, and gaming industry professionals are set to attend TwitchCon in San Diego, California, an annual convention hosted by Twitch, the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform.
Some of Twitch’s biggest names, including Pokimane, xQc, and Heelmike, are set to attend the event, and Twitch has lined up A-list talent, including Megan Thee Stallion and Kim Petras, to perform. But the event’s timing couldn’t be worse; the platform is facing a wave of criticism from creators and viewers over its handling of several issues, including revenue sharing and child safety concerns.
The event itself has also drawn criticism, as people complained that Twitch ponied up big bucks for Megan Thee Stallion to perform at the conference while cutting creators’ pay, and separately, expressed concern over the event’s COVID-19 safety regulations.
Twitch has lost some of its top streamers in recent months to rival platforms, as creators complain that death threats, sexual harassment, and child predation continue to plague the platform, and these issues have dominated the conversation surrounding Twitch and TwitchCon in recent weeks. ScreenRant’s Thomas McNulty wrote that they “risk tearing the platform apart,” despite Twitch’s long-held position as a top platform for gamers and entertainers to share live content with fans.
