Numerous channels running VALORANT gameplay for 24 hours a day are being criticized by top established gamers, like Summit1g. But today, TimTheTatman said that there’s someone else to blame for this—Twitch.
Tim was asked about content creators who broadcast all day long, including large amounts of rerun material that perhaps shouldn’t be categorized as “live.” The popular streamer told his viewers that he doesn’t know what sort of impact he can have on the issue. Furthermore, he expressed that it’s difficult for him to criticize the people streaming VODs because they’re simply taking advantage of a system that isn’t penalizing them.
“I can’t even be mad about the VOD streamers, the ‘VOD Victors’ if you will,” Tim said. “I have to be frustrated with Twitch for it, that Twitch is letting it happen. But do they care? All they see is 100,000 viewers in a stream for 24 hours a day.”
Tim, who announced an exclusive contract with Twitch in December, is typically careful about the way he discusses his platform. He’s been an established influencer on Twitch for much of the past five years playing popular games like Overwatch, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and now, VALORANT.
Following the release of VALORANT’s beta at the beginning of April, Tim was one of just a few content creators who was given access to beta code drops on Twitch for the game, making his channel massively popular.
After about a week, Riot opened up beta code drops for all channels playing VALORANT. And since that point, there have been a few streamers broadcasting 24/7, with a vast majority of their content being prerecorded.
“Damn, Twitch has changed boys,” he said. “A lot of you say, ‘Tim, you’ve changed.’ But to be fair, it’s been like 10 years, you know what I mean? But Twitch has changed.”
With the weight Tim has as an influencer, his viewers looked to him today, asking if he was talking to people at Twitch about content creators who post VODs and treat them like live streams. Tim quickly made it clear, though, that he doesn’t have nearly the amount of power that his viewers might think he has.
“I don’t even know who I would talk to about what they’re doing,” he said. “I don’t think (the Twitch staff watching me right now) are the people that be like ‘hey, there’s some rerun randys over there.’”
