Popular Twitch streamer Ludwig Ahgren spoke up about the platform’s recent data breach, claiming that the leaked earnings of the site’s biggest broadcasters can be a “good thing” for fans.
On October 6, Twitch was hit with a major data breach that leaked a slew of sensitive information, including various Twitch clients, Twitch properties, and even a potential Steam competitor.
However, all of these details have paled in comparison to the leaked earnings of the site’s stars. While the bigger moneymakers of the platform have gone without much ado, social media was set alight with criticism against names like Hasan and Sykkuno, both of whom made a projected ~$2 million since 2019 from subscriptions.
While there’s the matter of potentially sensitive leaked data to consider (although Twitch has since claimed that no passwords were leaked, instead opting to change broadcasters’ stream keys), popular streamer Ludwig claims that this information can be a good thing for viewers.
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Ludwig responds to Twitch earnings leak
It’s no secret that subscriber counts are publicly available information. When multiplied by the amount that streamers make per sub — usually around $5 for Tier 1 subscriptions — it can be a fairly simple task to hammer out an approximation of how much a broadcaster is making on subs, alone.
To Ludwig, this earnings leak better clarifies how the split between Twitch and its streamers works, allowing fans to understand how much their favorite broadcasters are making per subscription.
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Our investigation is ongoing, and we are in the process of analyzing all of the relevant logs and data to assess actual impact. For an update see https://t.co/mp8wndXv03
— Twitch (@Twitch) October 7, 2021
“The good thing about this leak is that, now, you can find out what the sub splits are,” he explained. “Because streamers, if you don’t know, don’t all get the same amount of money from Twitch. You guys give streamers $5 every time you sub. So when you Twitch Prime to me, which is about, I think, two-thirds of the people who sub to me, you give me a certain amount of money.”
He went on to clarify that he, nor is any streamer, allowed to divulge what percentage of money they make from their split with Twitch per the site’s terms of service… but with this new info in hand, viewers have a better idea of how much dough is going toward their favs.
(Topic begins at 6:56)
That said, it has also been revealed that the leaked Twitch earnings “severely underestimate” streamers’ income, as they don’t account for sponsorship deals, merch sales, or other such revenue sources… so the numbers we’re seeing now are likely far less than what broadcasters are actually reeling in, leaving us as much in the dark as we were before.