Is Twitch okay with Gamewisp?…
GameWisp gets bigger and bigger every day, as new creators create their tiers and rewards and new viewers sign up to get them. We’ve also found that this growth, which has continued to accelerate in the past six months, has gone a long way towards answering questions about what GameWisp is, how it works, and the nature of its value to streamers and content creators. It’s been gratifying to watch, but, even so, one question continues to pop up, even in the face of all that we’ve accomplished together.
“Is Twitch okay with this?”
We’ve endeavored to address this in the past, to the extent we felt it was appropriate. We’ve pointed out that there are numerous Twitch partners using the site (49, as of this writing) as we speak, many of whom were granted partnership after using GameWisp. Prior to their acceptance into the program, they used GameWisp to reward and strengthen their audience, and since, they’ve continued using it to deliver extra goodies and manage their subs. We’ve also explained how we’ve developed a good working relationship with Twitch behind the scenes, with good, productive interactions at conferences and consistent back-and-forth when it comes to development. We’ve had no issues reaching out to them when we need information about how to make GameWisp work as well as possible with Twitch.
But, we’ve also been clear: We can’t put words in their mouth. Twitch hasn’t endorsed GameWisp in any official capacity, and there hasn’t been a public acknowledgement from them or their employees that they’re “okay” with what GameWisp brings to the table… or, at least, there hadn’t been.
The above image captures a brief conversation between a streamer and Hassan Bokhari, who works on Partnerships and Development for Twitch. It’s for from an official endorsement, but it remains clear: using GameWisp will not negatively impact your chances for Twitch partnership. This jives with what we’ve seen, as creators have gotten that official sub button, more than once, after launching GameWisp pages, but it’s another thing entirely to hear it from someone on the Twitch side of things, and for it to be so clear: “feel free to use it.” Brilliant.
Twitch also saw fit to include us in the video package that headlined their “Twitch Developer Success at GDC 2016” presentation this past week. While focusing on their initiatives to connect partners and developers, they also drew attention to all the developers who have already worked with them to create incredible apps, like ours, and games. It was incredibly validating to be included, something that involved their team reaching out to us before the fact, and working with us to involve us with their event. Again, were we explicitly endorsed? No. But we think the messaging is clear: our relationship’s doing just fine.
Partnership is a major goal for every streamer. We take great pleasure in being able to bring a lot of what makes that program work to the masses by providing #SubButttonsForAll. But we also know that we are not a replacement for that official Twitch sub button, every one of you guys still wants to get there, to be able to call yourself a Twitch Partner, and we know, often, you’re concerned over whether using GameWisp will rub the decision makers over there the wrong way. Even though there’s no official word on the subject, we think you’d agree: the outlook remains strong.
Originally published at blog.gamewisp.com Mar 18, 2016.
