Ninja is one of the biggest names on the video game streaming block and now he's migrating to YouTube.
He signed a hefty deal with Microsoft to try and help bring in more streamers to join Mixer, the tech giant's version of Twitch. It appears this move was in vain, as Microsoft recently announced it will shut down the service and merge it entirely with Facebook Gaming.
But it appears Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins has moved on. He held his very first stream on YouTube on July 8, which seems to be where he will stay and stream from now on.
Ninja shared on Twitter that he had created a new YouTube account and his first stream, of course, was of Fortnite.
At the moment, it is unclear if Ninja has signed a deal with YouTube or if he's just begun streaming there due to the closure of Mixer. At the time of writing, he also has not streamed on Twitch, which is often considered as the go-to platform for streamers.
For the people who are currently streaming on Mixer, they will automatically be carried over to Facebook Gaming.
As of July 22, Microsoft will no longer have anything to do with Mixer and any Mixer website will instead redirect straight to Facebook Gaming.
By Microsoft's own admission, Mixer struggled to make any meaningful dent in its competition with titanic rivals like Twitch, YouTube and even the relatively new Facebook Gaming itself.
Streamers who signed exclusive deals with Mixer were offered an olive branch by Twitch when the news broke, as well as being offered a place as a Partner on Facebook Gaming.
However, Twitch has its own issues to contend with right now. The Amazon-owned platform is currently going through the process of responding to allegations of abuse from various streaming partners and Twitch employees. A movement in June called for a blackout of Twitch, urging people and streamers not to use the platform to raise awareness of purported sexual assault, racism, homophobia and transphobia which users claim goes unchecked by Twitch.
People have called on Twitch and its CEO Emmett Shear to do more. Twitch issued a statement responding to the claims of sexual harassment and abuse: "We take accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct extremely seriously", reads the tweet. "We are actively looking into the accounts concerning streamers affiliated with Twitch and will work with law enforcement where applicable".
