What happened to Mixer? Understanding why Twitch's competitor shut down
Mixer was Microsoft's answer to live-streaming platforms. It was set up as a direct competitor for websites like Twitch.
Famously known for poaching prominent content creators such as Shroud and Ninja, Mixer shut down back in 2020. There is no easy answer to why this happened. Factors such as corporate mismanagement, competition for better alternatives, and failing numbers are all possible explanations.
By all accounts, Microsoft had big things planned for Mixer. Having acquired it in 2016 (it was then called Beam), the company tried to integrate it into its pre-existing game-related products.
Users were able to watch livestreams directly from the Xbox game bar. They were also able to buy games played by creators with a click of a button, thanks to the Microsoft Store integration.
Microsoft seemed to pull out all the stops to make it a success, paying ludicrous amounts of money to established streamers so that they could join the platform.
Just a year before Mixer's eventual demise, gaming icons Ninja and Shroud joined the platform for lots of money. The former reportedly got a deal worth $30 million, while the latter got one worth around $10 million. While neither number was verified, the gaming community was fairly sure there was a lot of money involved.
Despite these acquisitions, Mixer shut its doors by July 2020, roughly four years after it was launched. The platform's co-founder, Matt Salsamendi, seemed to agree with the decision, telling CNBC:
Most industry experts seem to think Mixer failed due to its bottom line. Although interest in livestreaming increased during the coronavirus pandemic, StreamElements noted that the platform showed minimal growth of about 0.2% between April 2019 and April 2020. Meanwhile, Twitch
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