The streaming platform Twitch may cease its operations in Russia, according to Izvestia. In recent days, the service has introduced additional restrictions for users from Russia, depriving them of the ability to watch broadcasts in high quality, such as FullHD and 4K, journalists write. In addition, the platform has introduced monetization restrictions.
The available resolutions are 240p, 480p, and 720p. Twitch representatives explained this decision by citing the impracticality of commercial support for the region, which has already been observed when the platform left other countries.
Yulia Zagitova, founder of Breaking Trends and secretary of the Union of Journalists of Russia, noted that restrictions on monetization and content quality make Twitch less attractive to users. According to her, authors may leave the platform en masse. Possible alternatives to the service are YouTube, VKontakte, or Trovo.
Yaroslav Meshalkin, managing partner of the digital communications agency Heads'made, added that reducing the quality of broadcasts could be a more serious blow to streamers than denying monetization. Although streamers can look for external advertisers, the deterioration in content quality negatively affects viewers' perception.
IT columnist Sergei Pomortsev also believes that Twitch may officially leave Russia, recalling the platform's similar departure from South Korea in February 2024.
Twitch is an online platform for live streaming, where users can watch, conduct, and discuss broadcasts of games, music, creativity, talk shows, and other types of content in real time. The platform is especially popular among gamers and provides the ability to communicate via chat, as well as financially supports streamers through subscriptions and donations.
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