To most, Twitch is a fun side project that allows people to engage with the community, make friends, or just broadcast some content. To others, it's a lucrative career that provides them with a sustainable income. With some of the biggest Twitch streamers making thousands per hour, there are a lucky few who have carved successful paths through being content creators. However, even those that aren't making millions still depend on the income, and some broadcasters have been finding themselves in financial turmoil lately.
According to a recent tweet from Zach Bussey, who specializes in covering streamer news and insights, a number of streamers in the Middle East have shown concerns about Twitch not paying them last month, which was owed to certain "discrepancies" related to tax forms. It's alleged that the withholding of funds by the website is related to said streamers utilizing a service that allows them to avoid the 30% tax deduction that the US-based platform takes. An additional tweet says that, in such cases, there is a temporary suspension which lasts for three days.
It was towards the latter parts of February that these Middle Eastern Twitch streamers were voicing concerns about missing payments, with one user saying that the situation was "unfair" and that people were being "singled out." At the time, there were no additional details given as to why payments were being held back, other than it was in relation to "certain tax information," which was leaving a number of content creators worried about their incomes. However, some commenting under Bussey's tweets believe that this is an error on Twitch's part and nothing the streamers have done has been questionable.
On top of that, Twitch has also stopped paying streamers in Russia, due to the ongoing conflict between it and Ukraine. But in this instance, it seems that those in the Middle East feel they have been unfairly treated by the company.
Despite being one of the biggest video game streaming sites on the planet, controversy and unpopular antics appear to follow in its wake. With accusations that the company "lacks strategy and leadership," a number of top-level Twitch executives have been leaving since the start of this year. The people quitting have accused the site of "losing touch" with the creators, which is what the platform is supposed to be all about. With everything that's going on, it can only be hoped that Twitch resolves whatever issues it's having between it and these streamers who are down on their incomes.