Microsoft will be closing its chapter on Mixer. On 22 July 2020, the company plans on shutting down its streaming platform and moving over to Facebook Gaming. The announcement came as a big surprise to many as everyone thought after picking up Ninja and a few other streamers, that the service was doing well. However, it seems that was not the case. The company has struggled to reach the popularity needed to keep the platform successful.
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The gaming industry is dominated by the likes of Twitch and YouTube. Even Facebook Gaming has yet to reach its prime. Phill Spencer claims the company started its streaming venture behind the rest;
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We started pretty far behind, in terms of where Mixer’s monthly active viewers were compared to some of the big players out there. I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.” [/perfectpullquote]
Microsoft is partnering with Facebook to transition existing Mixer viewers and streamers over to the Gaming platform. On 22 July, all Mixer sites and apps will automatically redirect to Facebook Gaming. Existing Mixer Partners will automatically be granted partner status on Facebook. In addition, Mixer premium members will be granted partner status with Facebook Gaming as part of its Level Up program. Mixer viewers with outstanding Ember balances, channel subscriptions or Mixer Pro subscriptions will receive Xbox gift card credit.
But the future looks bright for Microsoft and Facebook Gaming. The move will help broaden the xCloud game streaming service by bringing the streaming service to the platform at a later date. This could allow viewers to automatically start playing games that they are watching on stream.
We will just have to see how this all plays out. Facebook Gaming might have the social media platform’s backing, but the streaming portion of the service has yet to pick up either. In addition, the app has been rejected multiple times on Apple’s App Store due to non-compliance with regulations.
