Popular Twitch streamer xQC, aka Félix Lengyel, has signed a massive multi-year deal with Kick, one of Twitch's rival platforms. Per The New York Times, he signed a roughly two-year contract for $70 million, and his agent says incentives could push that number to about $100 million.
Lengyel has 11.8 million followers on his Twitch Channel and averages over ten thousand views a stream. Lengyel said in a statement to the Times that one reason for the deal was so he could "to try and do things I haven't been able to before."
"I'm extremely excited to take this opportunity and maximize it into new creative and fresh ideas over coming years," he added.
A flashy announcement video said his Kick channel would still have the "same Felix" with the "same content."
IT'S TIME pic.twitter.com/jHRWkn5WEP
— xQc (@xQc) June 16, 2023
It's important to note that Lengyel's deal doesn't exclusively tie him to Kick. He still plans to stream on Twitch, according to the Times report, but "not nearly as often" as he did before signing the deal. As of press time, Lengyel has a following of over 56,000 people on his Kick Channel.
Welcome to the Kick Family @xQc 💚 pic.twitter.com/dDuHSVneVx
— Kick.com (@KickStreaming) June 16, 2023
Kick is a fairly new streaming service backed by gambling and gambling sites in Australia, and today's deal is just another sign of the growing tension between Twitch and its creators. One of the big reasons streamers might jump ship is because Kick only takes 5% of its streamers' subscription revenue as opposed to Twitch's 50% — but that means Kick is prepared to operate at a loss, chief executive Ed Craven said.
For more Twitch-related news, check out our story on what Twitch revealed is needed for partners to get 70% of subscription revenue, and how Twitch's crackdown on creator ads sparked boycotts and protests.
Luis Joshua Gutierrez is a freelance writer who loves games. You can reach him at @ImLuisGutierrez on Twitter.