Top Twitch Streamer xQc Signs $100 Million Deal With Rival Platform, Kick

Canadian Twitch streamer Félix “xQc” Lengyel, who has nearly 12 million followers and is arguably one of the biggest streamers on the platform, just announced that he has signed with rival platform Kick. The $70 million contract, features incentives that could push the total to about $100 million. Kick is widely regarded as Twitch’s rival owing to the former’s streamer-friendly policies. Every creator on Kick gets a sub button and a 95%-5% subscriber split with the money going to the streamer and 100% of all tips, called “kicks,” are given to the streamer with same-day withdrawal.

The non-exclusive contract was brokered by xQc’s agent, Ryan Morrison, who is the CEO of the Evolved Talent Agency and is being compared to the two-year contract extension signed by the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James last year. “Kick is allowing me to try and do things I haven’t been able to before,” said xQc. “It should have been a difficult conversation with every platform in the space throwing offers my way, but after speaking to Kick and the team behind it, the choice was obvious.” The streamer will be expected to produce content for Kick, but can also work with other platforms, be it YouTube or TikTok occasionally. Kick exec Ed Craven revealed that the gamer still plans to appear on Twitch, just not as often. 

xQc's New Deal With Kick is Making Waves In The Gaming Sector

“This is about creating something which is really centred around the creator itself and forming a community that is really built around them and not just solely around a corporate structure,”  said Craven. “We don’t feel like we really have a right to dip into your pockets and take a split of that.”

Kick is reportedly averaging 110,000 live streams a day, while Twitch has seven million monthly streamers and 31 million daily viewers. Kick started early this year and is backed by online gaming and gambling sites in Australia. Though Kick has a long way to go in terms of Twitch's reach, the new platform has been taking digs at Twitch's much-criticised policies. Though Kick promises higher revenue splits with streamers and also a more flexible approach to deals, its links to a crypto-based casino have left some sceptical about using the platform.