Twitch CEO Dan Clancy released an open letter on Thursday, summarizing the plans for the platform for 2025.
Notably, Clancy revealed that Twitch has open subscriptions and “bits.” This is a virtual item viewers buy to cheer on streamers, and “most” creators regardless of “most” followers
The change is aimed at democratizing the monetization process on Twitch, allowing a wider range of creators to capture as they attract audiences. Previously, only Twitch affiliates and partners had access to subscriptions and bits and had to meet certain criteria to qualify. This includes having at least 50 followers, maintaining an average of 3 viewers per stream, achieving at least 8 hours of accumulated streaming time per week.
The company is also introducing a new option that “enables revenue to all streamers when purchasing on Twitch.”
In addition to this significant change in monetization policy, Clancy detailed further Twitch initiatives in 2025. One of these involves streamers working together to create additional opportunities to generate revenue.
A new feature called “Shared Hype Trains” allows streamers to join together, join shared chats and gather on hype trains. Members can support their favorite streamers. Creators can also start and manage shared chat sessions directly from the mobile app.
Image credits: Twitch
Another way Twitch plans to enhance revenue opportunities for streamers is to introduce easier ways for creators to express their interest in working with brands. Additionally, the platform is launching new tools to enable brands to discover new channels to partner with.
The company will also explore options that will expand its promotional offerings and allow streamers to offer discounts and promotions during special events.
When it comes to mobile viewing experiences, Twitch will soon offer both landscape and vertical video options. The company is also introducing new features that use bits to allow viewers to respond to specific moments within the stream.
Image credits: Twitch
Additionally, the ability to create custom power-ups is currently in progress. Power-ups are effects that can be used during streams, such as adding colorful boundaries around messages or sending larger versions of emotes.
The company is also introducing clip updates with the aim of making the editing process smoother and providing new features to highlight moments in real time. There are also more automated ways to identify the best moments in the stream.
These updates follow recent Twitch announcements regarding major changes to its content storage policy. Starting April 19th, the platform will cap 100 hours of highlights and storage of uploaded content, limiting the amount of content users can maintain on the channel.