The camera focuses on two bare feet as a Twitch streamer, who goes by JrocTheGod, wrecks boss after boss in Cuphead with just his toes. After a few failed attempts to defeat the devilish final boss (in addition to a few breaks to rest his feet), J-Roc rolls credits on Cuphead as members of his community drop a “gg” in the chat.
“Full-time job or stream, my own well-being is first,” says J-Roc. Breaks are important to him. Despite working hard to cultivate an online community and earning recognition from the Amazon-owned platform as a Twitch Ambassador, J-Roc is one of the thousands of dedicated streamers with day jobs.
Reporting from WIRED’s Will Bedingfield lays out how streamers with small audiences struggle to grow. Even those with a decent following struggle to make ends meet on the platform. “If your immediate goal is to make a living as a creator, then you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment. Be more realistic,” says Mike Minton, a vice president of monetization at Twitch.
“I'm not gonna sit here and say, ‘Yeah, it's easy to become a livestreamer and do that full-time.’ Because the data doesn't support that,” says Minton. It’s not an issue that’s unique to Twitch. Only a small sliver of full-time creators on social media earn a living wage across the industry.
At TwitchCon in San Diego, the platform’s top earners expressed deep frustration as the company lowered how much some people make from subscriptions after receiving $100,000 a year. Less popular streamers who attempt to sustain a career on Twitch encounter even more financial instability. Earlier in 2022, Valkyrae, an influential creator who switched over from Twitch to YouTube, discouraged a member of her community when asked for growth advice. “Do not quit your job,” she said. “Do streaming as a hobby.”
Far below Amouranth playing Just Dance and HasanAbi reacting to his Twitter feed live on Twitch, a legion of unnoticed streamers desire more on-platform discoverability. “Larger streamers are great, but there are a lot of smaller streamers that are a lot of fun,” says Rose Evergreen, who performed at TwitchCon’s drag showcase.
