Twitch introduces streams that only subscribers can see

Twitch is introducing the ability for streamers to set up a stream that only paying subscribers can see. Users who are not subscribers will see a preview, but must subscribe to watch.

Twitch has built in the ability to reward a streamer’s audience with additional content that only they can watch, the Amazon subsidiary reports. Twitch emphasizes that these are not private streams, because non-subscribers can still watch previews and because the same rules apply as for regular streams.

Users can subscribe directly to view the stream. The feature is only open to streamers who are Twitch Affiliate or Twitch Partner and have already streamed as Affiliate or Partner on 90 different days. Also, the streamer must not have broken the rules of the platform for three months.

Twitch has received critical response to the feature’s introduction, mainly because many people fear that streamers are not making themselves popular by blocking streams from subscribers only. That happens under the blog post as well as in Reddit threads.