Twitch Stories Unveiled, Microsoft Making Moves, Sssniperwolf Drama

The Biggest Merger In Gaming History, Sssniperwolf Doxes Jacksfilms, Twitch Stories Arrive

A special happy Tuesday Wednesday streamers,

Yes. Yes. Dim is a little late this week! But don’t worry, I have plenty of live streaming and creator news for you to upload into that cranium of yours. Here’s a little preview:

• This past week, Twitch announced a new feature Twitch Stories. While some creators are excited to use the story format on Twitch, others have criticized Twitch’s decision to prioritize new features instead of addressing other longstanding issues.

• Despite a great deal of push back, Microsoft finally sealed the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard and their entire catalog of IPs. A new era of gaming begins…

• Sssniperwolf clashes with Jacksfilms after intentionally revealing his home in a recent Instagram post. The larger YouTube community is waiting for YouTube to finally punish her actions, but given YouTube’s history I wouldn’t hold my breath.

• Don’t forget to check out our weekly Twitter poll, Twitch and YouTube updates, and headlines from around the streaming and creator space!

If you’re reading from the web, make sure you’re subscribed to get your full dosage of the Dim The Lights newsletter. Its FREE!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read!

Ciao,
Brian

🥇This Week’s Top Stories

The Biggest Merger in Gaming History Just Became Official

Microsoft's recent acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard marks a significant milestone in the world of gaming. This acquisition, valued at nearly $69 billion, has propelled Microsoft to become the third-largest gaming company globally by revenue, trailing only Tencent and Sony.

The road to this landmark deal was far from smooth, taking over a year to complete. Regulatory hurdles, particularly the scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), played a significant role in the prolonged process. The FTC expressed concerns about potential anti-competitive practices, such as Microsoft making some of Activision Blizzard's games exclusive to Xbox, which could have excluded millions of PlayStation players. The acquisition was finally secured after receiving approval from the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority, the last regulatory hurdle.

Prior to this acquisition, gaming represented only a small portion of Microsoft's revenue, growing at a slower rate compared to the rest of the company. In the most recent quarter, gaming revenue increased by just 1%, while Microsoft as a whole experienced an impressive 8% growth. Gaming accounted for only 7.3% of total Microsoft sales in the latest fiscal year.

Why This Matters:

The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft heralds a turning point in the gaming industry, promising exciting changes and new possibilities for gamers. As Microsoft solidifies its position as a major player in the gaming world, the future of gaming holds the potential for innovation and diversity like never before. For starters, you can expect Activision Blizzard titles like Call of Duty, Warcraft, Diablo and Overwatch to make their debut on the Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service offering gamers access to a vast library of first and third-party titles, as early as 2024. During a recent podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer shared that he encourages Activision Blizzard developers to pursue projects they are passionate about which opens the door to revisiting older franchises in the near future.

Creators and fans are calling for YouTube to remove Sssniperwolf’s channel following her doxxing of JacksFilms

The ongoing feud between YouTube creators Jacksfilms and Sssniperwolf reached a boiling point over the weekend when Sssniperwolf visited the home of Jacksfilms, recorded a video of his home, and posted it to her 5 million followers on Instagram. Jacksfilms published a video criticizing her irresponsible behavior and called for YouTube to remove Sssniperwolf permanently from the platform stating that if her actions are not punished, it sets a terrifying precedence.

This feud started last October when Jacksfilms posted a video announcing the creation of a new channel that would parody Sssniperwolf, a creator with over 34 million subscribers best known for her reaction videos; if you can call it that.

Jacksfilms intention was to expose Sssniperwolf’s low quality content, accusing her of stealing TikToks from other creators and ‘reacting’ to them. Sssniperwolf ‘reacts’ by providing base level commentary offering no ‘transformative’ uses as defined by Fair Use. Worst of all, Sssniperwolf doesn’t credit any of the videos she steals, but reaps all the profit and exposure.

In a video detailing his issues with Sssniperwolf, Jacksfilms explains that he is exposing her because her behavior is sending a terrible message to other creators. Rather than create original content, Sssniperwolf promotes the theft of content belonging to smaller creators without consequence.

Why This Matters:

Creators uploading react content to YouTube isn’t illegal, but may risk being removed or demonetized. Many creators hide behind Fair Use as a shield to justify stealing and profiting off the work of others without fully understanding the legal doctrine. Sssniperwolf and other creators like her profit off the hard work and creativity of talented individuals. As fellow creators, we need to continue to support creators like Jacksfilms and expose creators like Sssniperwolf and hold them accountable for their actions.

📊Weekly Poll📊

Last week, I asked you about your favorite Halloween traditions.

The majority of you agreed that the movie binge is a quintessential part of your Halloween experience. I totally agree. I love watching horror and suspense films! I enjoy revisiting Scream, Evil Dead, and Midsommar. I’m hoping to catch a few classic horror films before the month is over!

This week, our focus is on October’s insane game releases! I want to know: Which game(s) are you snagging this month? There is plenty to choose from! Let me know!

Use the link below to participate in our weekly poll. Leave a comment if you’d like to elaborate on your thoughts!

Sound off in our weekly poll!