Mixer is over.
Microsoft is shuttering its video game live-streaming platform, four years after it launched Mixer to compete with Amazon’s Twitch and others.
Microsoft will instead partner with one of those competitors — Facebook Gaming — and move its Mixer community to the social media giant’s own gaming platform.
It’s a surprise decision considering the investment Microsoft made in Mixer since 2016.
“Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the service for them as quickly and broadly as possible,” Xbox chief Phil Spencer wrote in a blog post. “It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences we want to deliver to gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform.”
Starting July 22, Mixer sites and apps will redirect gamers to Facebook Gaming.
“Transitioning the Mixer community is a key part of a broader effort that Xbox and Facebook Gaming are embarking on, bringing new experiences and opportunities to Facebook, where every month more than 700 million people play a game, watch a gaming video, or interact in a gaming Group,” Spencer noted.
Microsoft’s gaming arm has been busy rolling out its xCloud game streaming service and will release its newest Xbox console this holiday season.
“The move is a blow to Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Amazon’s Twitch and Google’s YouTube services, but the partnership with Facebook could broaden the reach for its gaming services,” VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reported.
Mixer Partners, streamers, and community – today, we've got some very big news for you.
While we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer, we're officially partnering with @FacebookGaming and we're cordially inviting all of you to join.
? https://t.co/E1eMDvjYQb pic.twitter.com/554hHAXfaB
— Mixer (@WatchMixer) June 22, 2020
Mixer originally began as a Seattle startup that was acquired by Microsoft in 2016. Mixer sought to distinguish itself from competitors early on with features such as the ability for up to four broadcasters to stream to a shared chat experience and ways for viewers to interact with games as they’re streamed.
Microsoft inked a key deal with esports superstar Ninja last year to stream exclusively on Mixer, which had been gaining ground on Twitch and YouTube Gaming but was still far behind the industry leaders.