Trainwreck responds as Ninja claims Kick streamers are in store for a “reality check”

Jeremy Gan
Ninja next to trainwreck

Trainwreck responded to Ninja saying Kick streamers are in for a “reality check” as “99%” of their revenue is allegedly from gifted subs, questioning long-term stability for those on the platform. 

When Kick announced its launch into the streaming world, it came in with a bang. They signed one of Twitch’s biggest stars, Tyler “Trainwreck” Ninam, who has effectively served as the face of the platform ever since, even becoming co-owner. It was eventually revealed that Kick was created by one of Trainwreck’s biggest sponsors, Stake.

In recent months since it’s arrival on the scene, Kick has been an attractive alternative for many streamers feeling dejected on their former platforms. We have seen stars like Corinna Kopf, Hikaru Nakamura, and Adin Ross all make the switch for the platform’s lucrative revenue split of 95/5. 

However, the revenue source was called into question recently by several Twitch streamers. Lowco, one particular content creator, wanted to know what the payouts for Kick streamers would be like in a few months time, as they claim “95% of revenue” is coming from gifted subs. 

Ninja responded to the eye-grabbing tweet saying, “it does a great job showing the possibility of how much can be made but it’s incredibly unstable. Lots of reality checks about to happen.”

Ninja famously signed a deal with the now-defunct Mixer and transitioned from Twitch to the then-burgeoning streaming site. He currently streams across both Youtube and Twitch, among others.

Gifted subs, for those out of the loop, is when a single viewer gifts others premium subscriptions to the channel. The obvious problem with that is you cannot rely on a few individuals to prop up your revenue stream month to month, rather you need a whole community to do so. After all, there’s no guarantee those who receive gifted subs will in turn continue to pledge the next month.

Before long, Trainwreck chimed into the conversation, stating that if a viewer is gifted a sub, when they go back to continue the subscription, the counter will count them as a gifted sub. 

Despite that, there were still streamers questioning how valuable a switch to Kick would be, despite the 95/5 % split. As Lowco mentioned, just how many of a streamer’s viewers are willing to move platforms and pay to subscribe? 

As of now, we will need to wait and see. Trainwrecks has teased multiple marquee signings yet to come for Kick, and as more streamers take them up on their offer, we will get a better look into the streaming site’s statistics.

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About The Author

Jeremy is a writer on the Australian Dexerto team. He studied at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and graduated with a Bachelors in Journalism. Jeremy mainly covers esports such as CS:GO, Valorant, Overwatch, League of Legends, and Dota 2, but he also leans into gaming and entertainment news as well. You can contact Jeremy at jeremy.gan@dexerto.com or on Twitter @Jer_Gan