YouTube added three more well-known names to its growing roster of exclusive streamers today, announcing that it’s signed deals for Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Lannan “LazarBeam” Eacott, and Elliott “Muselk” Watkins to join YouTube Gaming. Twitch recently signed deals with three top streamers reported to be worth millions of dollars to keep them from leaving the platform.

Just a few years ago, Twitch was essentially uncontested as the top game streaming site, but that’s changing thanks to some high-profile departures. Ninja’s highly publicized move to Mixer last year kicked off a wave of big-name streamers leaving Twitch for other platforms, including YouTube. Before long, Shroud and Gothalion followed suit, both moving to Mixer. While Ninja received some criticism for what was at the time seen as an unwise decision to leave Twitch, it’s now clear that many streamers are on the lookout for a better deal, and reports suggest that the migration away from Twitch isn’t going to stop anytime soon.

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According to a press release from YouTube, the three streaming stars it signed today have a combined 21 million subscribers already on the platform. While they streamed on YouTube and other platforms before the deal, after today, their streams will only be available on YouTube. Muselk and LazarBeam have already kicked off their exclusive YouTube streams, starting today with a 12-hour livestream raising money to support relief efforts for those affected by the ongoing Australian bushfires. Valkyrae will hold her first exclusive stream January 14. While she isn’t participating in today’s charity stream, she’s held similar events in the past to support groups including the Gamers Outreach Foundation, a nonprofit that provides games and technology for children undergoing hospital treatment.

Valkyrae, who fittingly announced her new contract with a video on YouTube, is the first woman to join the esports organization 100 Thieves. With her move to YouTube, she’ll be joining fellow 100 Thieves member CouRageJD, who signed an exclusive deal with the site in 2019. With many members of 100 Thieves still on Twitch, they could be candidates to make the jump to YouTube in the future.

While the money that sites like YouTube and Mixer offer to lure streamers away from Twitch is significant, most streamers who make the jump mention the flexibility offered by other platforms as a deciding factor. Whether that means Ninja’s ability to pursue deals like his recent shoe collaboration with Adidas or Gothalion having a bigger platform for community outreach, streamers who’ve left Twitch behind seem to be doing just fine. For streamers and their fans, the proliferation of streaming sites is nothing but good news so far.

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Source: Valkyrae/YouTube