While falling asleep on Twitch is sometimes just an accident for late-night gamers, other streamers are using it in a more inventive way: to make thousands of dollars while they head to bed. Streamers on Twitch often stream their gameplay for hours at a time for fans that want to see the latest footage of a game they haven’t played, or hear strategies from streamers with much more experience than they have. Traditionally, this allows streamers to monetize their gaming via donations (in addition to less reliable Twitch advertising deals), which often provide donors with special privileges or access.
Sleeping isn’t totally unknown on Twitch streams. Sometimes Twitch gamers take brief breaks for naps to recharge, which is quite common for all-day streams of newly released games – or during marathons of extended play. Other Twitch streamers have fallen asleep entirely by accident and infamously woken up to find people still watching their streams, curious about what would happen next.
But this new Twitch strategy is something entirely different. As Wired recently reported, streamers are now actively encouraging viewers to keep on watching while they go to bed for the night. Some, like Matthew “Mizkif” Rinaudo, create bots that allow viewers to submit videos or other content of their own if they make a cash donation. This simply leaves the stream up as a free-for-all, one that made Rinaudo $5,600 in just a single night. Other streamers make a game out of it, setting digital alarms that are extended for every new set of subscriptions, allowing viewers to choose how long the streamer sleeps for.
“Sleepover” or “slumber” streams don’t always have the best connotations, considering a bunch of strangers are paying to watch a person sleep. Twitch streamer/model Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa may make money from fans watching her sleep after a gaming session, but she also wakes up to chat lines like, “I wanna watch her sleep every night. I’m in love with her.” Despite the creepy messages, more and more streamers are trying this strategy out to keep fans interested on an emotional level and make some extra cash. While it may not match the salaries of top streamers, it’s still working well.
Some may wonder if sleep streams like this are banned by Twitch. However, in response to trends in years past, Twitch did have a category of rules about streams that specifically banned “unattended content” and called out sleeping on stream, as well as basic house cams and similar things. But apparently, in the continued updates to the Terms of Service and Community Guidelines, this section was removed at some point. Now that sleep stream strategies are on the rise again, it’s safe to say the specific language is going to be added back in, but for now, Twitch streamers are free to snore their way to the bank.
Source: Wired