Kick could be eyeing Twitch’s recently laid-off employees after co-owner Trainwreck appeared to tease a competitor to the site in ‘Kick Rivals.’
Since then, the site has only grown in popularity thanks to its comparatively lax guidelines andbetter payouts for broadcasters— and now, it looks like Kick might be taking yet another step in one-upping its rival.
On January 10, it wasconfirmed by Twitch CEO Dan Clancythat the Amazon-owned company had made the “difficult decision” to lay off over 500 employees, which made up about 35% of its staff, in a major blow to the streaming service.
In response to this major swath of layoffs, Kick co-founder and streamerTrainwreckhas teased a possible venture to rival one of Twitch’s biggest initiatives.
Trainwreck teases ‘Kick Rivals’ as Twitch lays off 500 workers
A former Twitch employeeposted to Twitter/Xsaying that they had been laid off from the company after eight years of working on projects likeTwitch Rivals,Twitch’s competitive gaming initiative that hosts a series of live events across multiple esports alongside top streamers and former pro players.
“Not sure what comes next,” they wrote. “Hoping for the best!”
It seems that Trainwreck took notice of this employee’s situation and posed an idea that’s sparking a fair bit of speculation online,replying:“Kick Rivals?”
Kick Rivals?
It would certainly be interesting to see Kick create its own version of a competitive esport event in the same vein as Twitch Rivals as the company continues to grow and attract broadcasters fed up with Twitch’s recent issues, such as itsconfusing guidelines on explicit content.
This isn’t the first time a big name at Kick has teased a major blow to Twitch. Recently, Kick co-founder Bijan Tehraniclaimed that the company would “eventually buy Twitch”as the streaming wars continue.
Virginia Glaze is Dexerto’s Entertainment Editor in the US. She expertly covers trending stories across Twitch, Kick, YouTube, and TikTok – as well as fighting games and influencer boxing. Virginia also has bylines at Red Bull, GINX, and Bandai Namco. Contact her here: virginia.glaze@dexerto.com
