Massive Twitch Leak Reveals Streamers Earnings, Source Code and Much More

Well Twitch has had their pants pulled down today.

Included in the leak:

  • 3 years worth of details regarding creator payouts on Twitch.
  • The entirety of twitch.tv, “with commit history going back to its early beginnings.”
  • Source code for the mobile, desktop, and video game console Twitch clients.
  • Code related to proprietary SDKs and internal AWS services used by Twitch.
  • An unreleased Steam competitor from Amazon Game Studios.
  • Data on other Twitch properties like IGDB and CurseForge.
  • Twitch’s internal security tools.

This is also a "part 1" of leaks. Part 2 could include passwords and other personal information so if you have a Twitch account it's worth changing your password and enabling 2FA.

It didn't take long for someone to put up a website showing how much streamers actually make: https://twitch.pages.dev/. Worth noting that this is basically only subscriptions and ad revenue. Streamers make a lot more from sponsorships and donations - so this may be only around half of what they actually earn.

Bajo, the former Good Game host, made USD $180k in the past two years.

I'm sure Uncle Jeff isn't going to be happy.

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Comments

    • +3

      Thought this was going to be a humblebrag.

    • I hope not… those numbers are for 26months

  • I've never used it but Twitch is owned by Amazon right? Is it a separate login or do you login with Amazon account? Wondering about possibility of Amazon account passwords being in the leak.

    • Pretty sure you sign in with different accounts, you should be fine

    • +2

      Accounts can be linked but Twitch logins are not Amazon account logins.

  • -6

    The Internet should've been open source and transparent from the beginning.

    Doxxing people's earnings and source codes is a good start.

    • +3

      Even your emails?

    • +2

      Even your passwords?

      Where do you draw the line?

    • +2

      How much do you earn?

    • Doxxing people's earnings and source codes is a good start.

      lead by example. how much do you earn? what are you login details etc…

    • u wot

  • I had no clue it was this amount of cash, I knew the top gamers made good money but not this many streamers making this much cash. I presumed it was just a few of the Elite gamers that made good coin. And WTH is Bajo doing up there making that much, He was decent on Good Game and definitely much better than Hex and they should have stuck with the original Duo. But I wouldnt pay money to watch him game or stream , when there are much better gamers out there. I guess he had some humour and chat.

    • Bajo seemed a really good guy and the original duo were the best. I wonder what the other original guy is doing now?

      • +1

        Jeremy 'Junglist' Ray wiki says he is managing editor for Fandom Australia since 2017.

        Fandom was founded in 2004 by Jimmy Wales (the wikipedia guy).

        • +1

          haha yeah i did the same thing and looked up jeremy to see what he was up to last night after i saw this thread. I didnt realise that Bajo wasnt the original member, there was Michael before him? Pretty unfair what ABC did to Junglist since he was one of the co-creators of the show.

        • Thanks!

    • +1

      The actual earnings would be much higher too because the leak doesn't take into account donations and sponsorship deals.

    • It's what I'd expected

      There is a lot of information out there already

      As Geoff Blumberg said… "is that all"

      For being minor celebrities with huge audiences, working near crazy hours…

      I wouldnt be a streamer unless I could guarantee myself at least 250k, with prospects of growth.

      I've been watching Twitch since late 2000. What a lot of people don't realise is how many of those in the top 1,000 are not currently earning that much.

      Twitch is crazy volatile, 1 year you make 500k, next year you're gone with 100k

    • I had no clue it was this amount of cash

      i used to watch videos from early days of unboxtherapy, ltt and tmart (cod) + few others and it was pretty clear in few years time they were getting loaded in shit ton of big bucks

  • +2

    Nice. Everyone can find out how much twitch screws us over now :)

  • +5

    Do adults actually watch these streamers or is it mostly kids? watching someone play a video game seems like a strange way to spend your time unless you are a kid. To each their own i guess

    • +1

      I stream online poker, and all sorts of adults watch it :)

      • Poker i can understand, but some random shootem up video game?

        • +7

          It's more about the personality than the game being played IMO.

          I'd categorize streamers into three buckets:

          The competitive streamers: Ninja, Nickmercs, TimTheTatman, Tfue, DrDisrespect, loltyler1
          These guys are good at certain games whether it be CoD or Fortnite and gather a large following because they get a lot of kills and win competitions.

          The opinionated, "just chatting" and hot tubs: HasanAbi, Asmongold, Mizkif, Moistcr1tikal, Amouranth
          These people are mainly known for just chatting and reacting to content. Asmongold plays MMOs as well, but not at any high level.

          The variety streamers: Ludwig (Smash bros), LIRIK (Battle Royale), summit1g (competitive FPS), xQcOW (overwatch), Sodapoppin (WoW), Shroud (CS:GO)
          These people have built a following from being good at certain games in the past (in brackets above) and have since switched to playing a variety of games, generally the new releases. They also dip a bit into the above group, but mainly just play games rather than react to content and drama.

          • +1

            @SnowDragon: Interesting subculture, thanks for the breakdown

    • +1

      Why do you find it strange, others watch Footy, Cricket etc, these guys watch streamers.

      • +2

        Do people send money randomly to footy players to talk to them? It's the simps that are the problem.

        • Do you use ppv or buy sporting merch or vip passes? If argue it's the same thing.

          • @AH:

            Do you use ppv or buy sporting merch or vip passes

            No way.

            • @brendanm: Do you find it strange that people buy these?

              • +2

                @fluffchuck: Not as strange as I find it when people want to give money to an eceleb, who they could just watch for free, in the hopes that they might talk to them. Buying some sort of sport shirt etc just shows you support a team, I don't think the people doing that are hoping to be friends with the players.

    • I know people who ride bikes still get up and watch Tour De France…

      i know people who plays soccer every weekends still get up and watch soccer…

      its the same logic actually…

      i got this from a friend who plays tennis regularly… he asked his son about why his son was watching people play the games on Twitch instead of playing the games that he bought for his son.

      His son replied, "you play tennis all the time but you still watch tennis…"

      • +2

        I'm wondering if there's any platform where I can make money streaming myself eating dinner…

        • +1

          I know you’re joking but it’s actually a thing on YouTube and they’re called mukbang

          • @blurn: And there's a good reason not to get into it. Uncontrolled eating will lead to nikocado avocado

            • @AH: Anything done in excess or to extremes will never end well. I don’t view his channel but have only heard of him from reddit about his downward spiral into obesity as a result of chasing YouTube fame and possibly mental health issues.

              It’s not all gloomy as others seem to have found the right balance. beardmeatsfood eats healthy and exercises regularly off camera to help offset the enormous quantities consumed on his channel.

          • @blurn: I know, but I think mukbang is mostly binge eating, and I assume mostly popular in South Korea (?)
            I just meant streaming while having a regular sized, relatively boring meal, because it sounds like a lot people have such an empty life that would even waste their time watching that… and I don't mind getting paid to do something I would do anyway.

            • @RiseAndRuin: The mukbang scene seems to cater to those who crave company when eating alone or even just being by themselves really. It’s more about the illusion of hanging out with a friend than the actual act of watching someone eat.

              I don’t really follow it but I have started to notice the trend spill in from channels that focus on competitive eating or food review.

              The fact is that there’s a lot of lonely people out there and streaming/yt offers them a way to connect socially and be a part of a community that they struggle to find in real life.

        • it's actually a thing - there are lots of streamers on tiktok who basically make videos of themselves eating.

      • Thanks for the explanation, makes sense. I had no idea people watch video games at this scale. Guess im getting old

      • I know people who ride bikes still get up and watch Tour De France…

        Do they send them money in the hopes they will talk to them?

    • Its viewer engagement.

      For most people its not the game, but the entertainment from it.

      I look at it like this. The celebrities you see on TV… there were 100s.. 1000s.. who were knocked out early for that position. Twitch TV has given them all a voice now, there is something for everyone now.

      People forget the majority of viewers pay nothing.

      A subscription to one streamer a month is less than a netflix subscription.

      If I was wealthy an "oiler", I'd have no problem gifting "subscriptions" to others or donating 500,1000. Why not they make you happy.

      This is the kind of model we tried to push pre Torrent, but never worked. The Rich pay more, those who can pay what they can, those who can't or don't want to(the majority) pay nothing

  • +5

    Im not that old but i really dont get the point of joining a stream and donating to the streamer, especially when the best parts of the stream will likely be a youtube video in a day or two, and me watching it on youtube earns the creator some small amount of money.

    Why would you watch a movie being made, rather than the actual movie?

    Am i missing something?

    • +1

      It's fun watching someone who knows their stuff and can be engaging. Normally I watch while gaming at the same time.

      So for instance, I'll be playing hearthstone and have trumpsc's stream running. I learn how to play from his moves + sometimes RNGesus is funny to watch

      Then I may be playing diablo 2, and I have MrLlamaSC running on twitch for the same reasons.

    • -3

      Donations should be banned, on twitch, tiktok and YouTube.

      • Why though? We live in a capitalistic society, why shouldn't people be able to contribute to content they appreciate?

        • -2

          That's on the people, their already making a killing…

          Capitalism is fuel to fire, hopefully there's backlash and people start thinking with their head, because those streamers knew well and long the revenue they earned and decided to double dip.

          Try asking people for money on the street, your first response will be no, absolutely not, but once you do, you realise wow it wasn't so bad, then the disregard to whom you ask being anybody.

          So what I'm saying is, those that donate, just like gambling should inform those, to not donate because these people do and those people who also do want to next hit.

          Its become so normalised now.

        • Do these donations rely on simp behaviour in hopes to be noticed, like Onlyfans?

      • -1

        buskers should be banned

    • +1

      twitch runs ads. they make money even if you dont donate

    • What if we said this about the AFL grand finals and someone handed AFL fans a recording of the highlights the day after?

  • +5

    Sorry to be a buzzkill…Man, if all that energy and money people are willing to throw away went to something more meaningful. Perhaps the world be less shitty…

    Don't get me started on these billionaires and their own little penor measuring space race..

    I'm getting old.

    Down vote away…

    • +3

      Do you apply that logic to all forms of entertainment or only the ones you don't enjoy? I do agree that donating to millionaires is absolutely idiotic and if you want to donate money you should give it to someone in need.

      • +1

        Nope. I agree with this:

        …donating to millionaires is absolutely idiotic and if you want to donate money you should give it to someone in need.

    • away went to something more meaningful.

      What is the meaning of life.

      • 42

      • To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

  • Nothing new, just that the mass media got a sniff of it and is making a big deal about it. There are plenty of youtube videos where streamers reveal how much they earn in detail:

    https://youtu.be/6m5P_n5njCQ

  • +3

    Is that yearly earnings?

    If it is In surprised it isn't more. What this wont take into consideration (Besides sponsorships) is direct donations via streamlabs which is probably the biggest source of revenue for the big streamers.

    What this also illustrates is that unless you're in the top..3,000ish. You're probably better off having a full-time career in another job.

    As someone who streamed an entire year (8 hrs a day, 5 days a week) it's a lot of effort and work. It's the only job that I had where I'd finished after 8 hrs and need to sleep. I'd be super active, engaging, etc and it takes a lot out of you. The other side of the coin is that there were days where I'd receive nothing and days where I could make more than working in an office. Times when my channel would be recommended a lot and times when my channel would not at all due to the algorithm. Sometimes you get lucky.

    The biggest problem was reinserting yourself back into an office job and finding a job because a lot of employers would not understand or look favourable taking a year to 'play video games'.

    Don't regret it, loved that time period and have a lot of good memories (including streaming the OzBargain meet) but there's definitely smokes and mirrors to it - "You got paid to play video games!!! Madddd".

    • +2

      Most these guys have been screaming for like 5 or 10 years, you can't just start streaming with no marketing plan in place these days unless you an absolute god at a game.

      Most these blokes up boring as batshit, I see the YouTube videos and they're literally all the same it's just that they've already have huge following from the past.

      I feel like there's plenty of ways to use YouTube, and other platforms to boost yourself as long as you're reasonable at gaming but you need a really good marketing strategy to set yourself apart from everybody else aka entertainment (getting views)

      • The one twitch streamer I watched a bit during lockdown #2 took a multi platform approach. TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, Snapchat and a Discord server for the 'community' that was developed. not sure if admins and moderators were paid or purely volunteers but they were required for at least Twitch chat and Discord.

        There was also a lot of networking with other content providers. Playing with them while both streamed, raiding out at the end of steam to boost numbers of allied streamers etc. This would also help build their own community as receiving raids would get initial views and as long as they were entertaining they would continue to grow their audience. I also think they got good advice about streaming as a business from these more experienced streamers. There was also a lot of 'carrying' going on where she could focus on her stream members and the others would focus on gameplay especially in games that were new, not her style, but were popular for Twitch viewers.

        I think I first started watching during the time when the streamer was trying to get Twitch Partner status, which they did get. Because they were much more entertaining and engaged with viewers and had a much more regular content schedule. They have seemed to drop off significantly recently. I think they are making much more income from OnlyFans now and not needing to focus on Twitch income. For reference the Twitch leak has them making around 50k (pretty sure its all income on the service from 2019)

        • I assume female? If it's OF 😁😱😂

          Unfortunately streaming is alot of hours, alot of work. It's not easy money, and if people drop off so do their viewers.

          Yeah, people will use which ever, or every social media platforms to drive traffic. I believe many have mods, video editors and pay them(Most already make good coin).

      • No they haven't looking at the top 1000 1/3 only started making bank in the last year. The other 1/3 were probably big, but disappeared

        Streaming is scary AF

    • +1

      Which list are you looking at?
      xQc for example, made 750k USD in the last month.

      Also, whats to say they'll must get back into an office job? Streamers are generally people who know how to interact with others. They'll more likely end up in PR, or events managers, etc, than a basic office job.

      • +1

        You really think so? I think a lot of streamers aren't as outgoing and social in real life as they are whilst streaming… Heaps have revealed they have social anxiety.

        • Now you put it that way… the more successful ones are more likely to know how to create events or pique peoples interests. Wouldn't apply to others. But of course there is no 'one fit for all' statement that could apply to any genre of people.

    • LOL, donations are the smallest part of a streamers income.

      This has been revealed multiple times by people who use to be on twitch

      The big streames have donations alerts' mostly turned off, because they don't care.

      For the majority, its subscription. But as they get bigger and bigger, its Sponsorship, but some people are brand risk… so not for everyone.

      At the end, the biggest is Ad revenue that Amazon shares with the streamer. At the pointy end you rarely see big streamers do sponsorships. They're relying on high viewer numbers

  • Seems some of twitch is becoming like Onlyfans, so let the hate flow guys..

    • OF exists because platforms like Twitch try and not allow that type of content. the "hot tub" meta exists because of rules lawyering around rules that bikini only be worn in normal context.

  • +3

    I only watch Kitboga scambaiting videos. Highly recommend.

    • +3

      I am happy Kitboga is making money.

    • +1

      I'm the same but with Pierogi (Scammer Payback). He has a day job in cyber security and great technical skill.

  • -1

    That's alot of dough for trash entertainment and having a skill less career. And I thought tradies got paid too much…

    • -3

      Tallpoppy much? Enjoy your minimum wage life :)

      • Oops did i offend a tradie ? Taking a day off from throwing VB cans at the cops ?

        • -1

          Nope, white collar here, but its obvious from your childish comments that your clearly on minumum wage and jealous of others, hence fitting the tallpoppy category perfectly.

          ps: didnt neg you either, not that i need to :)

          • +1

            @DiscoJango: Yes you got me. So insightful. You must be of a superior intelligence shortpoppy breed. Maybe try learning a new word with that superior intelligence of yours white collar boy.

            • @pompompom: Upvoted your comment, to give you some hope in life :)

              • @DiscoJango: Your shortpoppy and white-collar upvotes will indeed help my presumable minimum wage earnings. I see you are not only wise but insightful too. More upvotes plz.

  • W verge!

  • +1

    Imagine watching movie or sports how boring when you can just be an actor or play sports yourself.

  • +2

    Am I the only one who took this as a message to change password?

    But yes, lots of controversial content there.

  • Is that why Bajo quit? Or did he get fired for the girl?

    • Bajo left because the show wasn't delivering, and both members had conflicts of interest on what the show would be.

      • the new show with the 2 new girls is totally shit …
        mainly focus on a younger market (PG and younger games) so more more mature rated games..

        what a waste.

        they should have made two shows instead.

        now not sure how many still watch Good Game or if it is still on TV anymore.

        • Bajo made 6 times he's salery back in the last five years being on twitch for 2.5 years.

  • GMHikaru lol

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