Mixer is no more. Xbox is shutting down<\/a> its in-house live-streaming service this summer and transitioning its entire platform to Facebook Gaming, in an attempt to rapidly expand its audience base. All Mixer services will go dark on July 22nd, and its sites and apps will redirect to Facebook Gaming.<\/p>\n After July 22nd, native streaming from the Xbox One will only be possible via Twitch, Mixer’s largest competitor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own live-streaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now,” Xbox head Phil Spencer said in an Xbox Wire post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mixer Partners that make the leap to Facebook Gaming will receive similar status there, and Microsoft says<\/a> existing agreements will be followed as closely as possible by the new management. Streamers participating in Mixer’s monetization program will be eligible for — but not automatically enrolled in — the Facebook Gaming Level Up Program, which unlocks the ability to earn money through Stars and Fan Subscriptions.<\/p>\n Mixer viewers with leftover Embers, the service’s in-house monetary system, will receive a digital Xbox gift card worth a “similar value<\/a>.” This converted credit should appear in Xbox accounts by July 31st, and it will expire on September 30th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Today’s news came as a surprise to the streaming community, especially considering all the work (and money) that Microsoft has been funneling into Mixer. Late last year, Microsoft dropped millions of dollars to secure top personalities like Soleil “Faze Ewok” Wheeler<\/a>, Cory “King Gothalion” Michael<\/a>, Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek<\/a>, and the biggest catch, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins<\/a>. When Mixer signed Ninja, he had 14.7 million followers on Twitch. As of today, Ninja has just over 3 million followers on Mixer.<\/p>\n It was reported at the time that Microsoft spent $20 million to $30 million<\/a> to lure Ninja away from Twitch. With today’s news, Ninja, Shroud and the other Mixer-exclusive streamers are ostensibly free to re-join Twitch or any other platform.<\/p>\n Multiple<\/a> people<\/a> involved in the esports and streaming industries are reporting that Ninja and Shroud, Mixer’s two biggest names, turned down multimillion-dollar deals with Facebook Gaming amid Mixer’s closure. Esports consultant Rod Breslau<\/a> said Facebook offered both streamers “almost double” the amount of their original contracts, but they opted for a buy-out from Mixer instead.<\/p>\n “Ninja and Shroud are now free agents,” he said.<\/p>\n
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