FaZe Swagg Switches From Twitch To YouTube, Opens Up Entire FaZe Clan Switch
The ongoing war between Twitch and YouTube appears to be taking more twists and turns than a bag of salted pretzels. Both parties are splashing the cash to attract or keep their biggest content creators, while new guidelines have also opened up avenues for either platform to become the powerhouse of esports too.
The tug-of-war for the best content creators has taken a yank in favour of YouTube as of late, given that Twitch has dominated for so long and completely capitalised on the downfall of Mixer.
Despite retaining Nick "NICKMERCS" Kolcheff in a deal worth around $30,000,00, YouTube has already begun capturing streaming sensations like Tim "TimTheTatman" Betar, Jack "CouRage" Dunlop, Herschel "Dr Disrespect" Beahm, and Rachel "Valkyrae" Hofstetter. Now, another huge Twitch icon has left the platform, as Kris "Swagg" Lamberson has signed exclusive rights with YouTube.
FaZe Swagg Switches From Twitch To YouTube
FaZe Clan's popular Call of Duty fragger, Swagg, has over two million followers on Twitch and often boasts over 200k views per stream. However, after years on Twitch, the Nuke Squad founder has now switched back to his roots and signed a deal with YouTube.
As of September 2, Swagg will join the ever-growing list of YouTube streamers, taking advantage of his 2.55 million subscribers on the platform.
"I can't even describe the feeling man, did my first ever live stream on YouTube in 2015," he said on Twitter, following the announcement.
Swagg's YouTube Deal Opens doors For FaZe Clan's Nuke Squad
Click to enlargeWhile Swagg was undoubtedly offered a bucket load of cash to join YouTube, this now means that not only will his followers need to filter over to the red button streaming platform, so will his streaming companions. Despite a new rule which has allowed Twitch streamers to play with YouTube content creators offline (something that was previously not allowed), Swagg often streams with his FaZe Clan and Nuke Squad companions while they are also live.
This now means the likes of Ean "Booya" Chase, Dante "Santana" Rene, Chris "JSmooth" Smoove, and Los Angeles Lakers athlete Anthony Davis might all have to make the transition to YouTube too. Together, the four Call of Duty streamers joined FaZe Clan as a quartet in 2020 and added American Football athlete Davis to the roster in 2021. Given that the Nuke Squad gang have played and streamed together on a daily basis for over two years, it reads pretty for YouTube and appears worrisome for Twitch.
Together, they have 3,000,000 followers on Twitch, and while Swagg does boast 66% of this sum, the platform might now lose three more of its most successful Warzone streamers just as the new era of Call of Duty is rolled out.
The move does split the wider FaZe Clan Call of Duty community though, with NICKMERCS left behind on Twitch. Swagg and Nick often paired on Warzone together, which will now only come into play if either one of them is offline.
