Twitch Releases Apology for Branded Content Changes on Its Platform

Twitch has goofed up and has publicly apologized for it.

The company behind the popular streaming platform recently released an apology for creating confusion and frustration regarding its branded content policy update it released on June 6.

Many Twitch streamers went up in arms against Twitch's new content policies because it limits the ads they could put on their streams when they partner with brands.

Twitch Content Policy Update Apology

Twitch mentioned on its official Twitter page that it apologizes for the confusion and frustration it created when it updated its content policy update, saying that it didn't intend to limit streamers' ability to create direct relationships with sponsors and that it wants to clarify what it meant in its update.

According to the company's statement, its existing ads policy intends to prohibit third-party ad networks from selling burned-in video and display ads on Twitch, which is consistent with other services. For those unaware, the new content policy update Twitch wanted to implement bans burned-in video ads, audio ads, banner ads, and a 3% size requirement to on-screen logos, per Gamespot.

"We missed the mark with the policy language and will rewrite the guidelines to be clearer," Twitch said on its Twitter page, adding that it would notify the community once it had updated the language of the changes it made to its content policy.

Twitch has yet to remedy its content policy as of press time; its Branded Content Guidelines webpage still features the policies that outraged gamers and streamers so. However, it had called a meeting with staff and Twitch ambassadors to clarify the situation, saying that streamers can still have branded streams with graphics on stream only if they're aware of the specific ad that's running during their stream.

The Twitch ambassadors expressed concern about the company's decision to forego their opinion on the matter before it launched its new guidelines, though the company had agreed that it would bring future changes to their attention to gather feedback before their implementation.

Initial Outrage Over Content Policy Changes

The outrage against Twitch's content policy regarding branded content first came to be after several prominent streamers on the streaming platform saw and protested what Twitch added, per Sportskeeda. The first to get the public's attention about the changes was streamer Zach Bussey, who shared a series of illustrations that demonstrate what will and won't be allowed under the new content guidelines.

The word about Twitch's content policy changes spread after that, with popular streamers such as Asmongold and penguinz0 (AKA MoistCr1TiKaL) criticizing the changes the company made to its policy on branded content. They stated that the changes would eat into the revenue streamers can make from brand sponsorships, which are now important after the 50/50 revenue split Twitch implemented in late 2022.

Many of these streamers, including Asmongold, had threatened to leave Twitch for other platforms or would stop streaming exclusively on it. Others pointed out the disadvantage the new policy puts on charity streaming and eSports events, like the Game Awards.