Korean Twitch streamers outraged over unexpected shutdown: “I lost my job”

Korean streamers are expressing their frustration and disappointment with Twitch’s sudden decision to cease operations in South Korea.

On December 5, Twitch revealed plans to shut down services in South Korea on February 27, 2024.

Despite Twitch’s earlier attempts to adjust its operations, including reducing video quality and blocking Korean users from viewing VOD content, the renowned streaming platform’s time in Korea is coming to an end due to costs “10 times more expensive” than other countries.

“We understand that this is extremely disappointing news, as many of you have invested a lot of energy in Twitch and depend upon the service as a source of income,” a statement released to impacted streamers read.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy took to social media to apologize to affected streamers after the “very difficult decision” was made.

Reactions are already flooding in from impacted streamers, and many are already contemplating drastic measures such as relocating to another country to continue with their careers.

“I lost my job,” streamer ‘yummy_2’ shared on Twitch shortly after the announcement. “My career, everything that I’ve made… just everything will be gone.”

With a predominantly English-speaking viewer base, ‘yummy_2’ is one such streamer left with a tough choice: “Moving platform or, second, moving to another country. But even if I move to another country I need to make a new channel and I need to get partner again from that country.”

Despite the promise that Twitch will support their transition to local livestreaming services, impacted streamers will need to rebuild their channels and regain Partner Streamer status.

Another streamer, ‘munchkinjesse,’ on the brink of a significant milestone, shared their disappointment: “We were so close to 24,000 followers… At least I won’t have to worry about Partner Plus anymore, I guess.”

For now, affected streamers including yummy_2 and munchkinjesse are encouraging their viewers to subscribe on other platforms such as YouTube.