Twitch is eliminating Host Mode, leaving streamers and viewers baffled

polygon.com:

Twitch is removing Host Mode in October, according to an update to the platform’s “How to Use Host Mode” help-desk page, initially spotted by reporter Zach Bussey. On October 3, the “Host Channel” Stream Manager quick action, along with the backslash “host” command, will no longer be available. The “Autohost” feature will be renamed “Suggested Channels.” The raid feature will remain.

/host and host mode is going away on October 3rd, 2022.<a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/TwitchNews?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#TwitchNews

pic.twitter.com/eWAzIaPd7R

Host Mode was first introduced in 2014 as a way of allowing streamers to promote other channels. It allows streamers to use their channel to display another channel’s stream, similar to a website embed. Raids, on the other hand, allow streamers to send their viewers to another specific channel.

A Twitch representative directed Polygon to the “How to Use Host Mode” FAQ section for clarification on why the feature was removed. “We made the decision to deprecate this feature because the experience it delivers to viewers doesn’t match their expectations when they come to Twitch,” the section reads. “Viewers want to interact with a streamer when they’re live and host mode blocks this from happening. Preventing viewers from interacting with the streamer they’re watching also limits a streamer’s growth potential because they’re not able to build meaningful connections with those new viewers.”

Streamers and viewers alike have been taken off guard by the decision to remove the feature, which was in regular use for eight years. They’re also surprised by the notion that Host Mode “blocks” interaction. Popular streamers took to Twitter to share their confusion and frustration, and