Popular content creator NICKMERCS has responded to claims he ‘fell off’ after moving away from Call of Duty’s Warzone on stream, opting instead for Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends.
When Warzone first dropped in March of 2020, former Fortnite star NICKMERCS was among those who transitioned to CoD’s battle royale, enjoying it for its simplicity and overall feel.
Despite sticking with the game for some time, he has since migrated to Apex Legends, investing considerable time into the Titanfall-inspired battle royale. He has previously spoken about the drop in viewership since taking up Apex, reiterating that it does not hurt him financially.
In a December 2 YouTube video, he delved deeper into the topic, saying that while he cares about his viewer numbers, he is not willing to drop Apex Legends because of the level of enjoyment he gets from it.
After explaining why he’s not massively excited for Fortnite’s new season or Warzone’s move to the Pacific, Nick explained how, when he becomes “locked in to” one title, it becomes difficult for him to play anything else.
He also said that the changing circumstances of the world’s global health crisis have definitely affected Twitch viewership.
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“I wake up, I see Timmy’s clip talking about how I fell off with 25,000 viewers,” he laughed. “I’ve always been a guy that, I don’t live and die by my numbers but I’m proud of my numbers. Some people don’t give a f**k. I definitely care… When Warzone was at its max, viewership was crazy for everybody, not just me. We were hitting 80,000 viewers playing pubs with Tim. 80k was a normal Tuesday.”
He continued: “So that’s a little bit of an unfair assessment, given the current world that we’re living in. Another big one is that we’re playing a game that’s not as popular. Apex is just point blank not as popular [as Warzone]… And not to say that Apex is a small game or small fanbase, because it’s not. It’s just not as big as Call of Duty.”
Despite admitting that he does care slightly about the drop-off in numbers, his explanation for it resonated with many fans.
He concluded: “Viewership may be down, but we’re still crushing it.” Taking into account the MFAM, the numbers he commands on YouTube, and the positivity he spreads in the community, it’s hard to disagree.