This is Pokimane

• With over 9 million followers, she ranks 9th on Twitch and is the only woman in the top 10
• She is considered a family-friendly showcase streamer and enjoys showing games like Valorant
• However, as one of the few women at the top, she is also subject to a lot of hostility and hate
• Pokimane started streaming on Twitch as a high school student, has been streaming full time since she was 21, and is on air an average of 5-6 days a week
• In July 2022, Pokimane announced she was taking some time off to recover mentally
• Now she’s reporting back, but there are restrictions: Pokimane wants to stream less and focus more on other platforms

Pokimane comes back on Twitch – but less frequently and irregularly

This is how Pokimane reported back: On August 28, over a month after announcing her hiatus, Pokimane announced via Twitter that she would be streaming again starting September 1. However, when the big day arrived, she first released a video on YouTube.

In the video, Pokimane explained why she took the time off and what’s next for her now. In the stream that followed, she also touched on the points she had raised before going back to her normal gaming schedule.

This is how it should continue for Pokimane: The Twitch star explicitly stated that she does not want to stop streaming. However, it should become significantly less and more irregular. Instead of 6 days so far, Pokimane wants to be on air only 2 to 3 times a week.

You can watch the full comeback stream on Pokimane’s Twitch channel.

Here’s what she wants to do instead: Fans don’t have to completely miss out on Pokimane. The streamer runs several other social media accounts. She is having more fun on Instagram and TikTok in particular.

That’s why Pokimane is drawn to other social media: The streamer explains she enjoys the feeling of being able to spontaneously post an Instagram story or a short video on TikTok and then get on with her day.

She no longer wants to wake up, run to her PC, and gamble for 8 hours at a time, Pokimane says. She also has a higher percentage of female followers on other platforms, with whom she can talk about things other than gaming.

With this move, Pokimane joins a growing list of content creators who are looking to step away from streaming giant Twitch and focus on other platforms.

Pokimane talks about the pressure streamers and streamers face

That’s why she wants to stream less: Pokimane has been an active streamer for nearly a decade. While it used to be new and exciting, Twitch seems to be losing its appeal for the now 26-year-old.

For one thing, she says, it’s because of the competitive nature of the industry. Pokimane says she no longer wants to be under pressure to chase every trend, to always stream more than the competition.

While there will always be games that can capture her heart, Pokimane says she now enjoys gaming outside of her streams more. This way, she can enjoy games again the way she did when she was a kid.

There’s more to the streamer profession than just gaming

Here’s what Pokimane has to say about full-time streaming: In her stream, Pokimane also discusses the “dream job of being a streamer.” She says it’s not just playing video games all day and getting paid for it. When she’s not on air, she still thinks about streaming all the time.

Additionally, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes, such as meetings with collaborators. All of that is very stressful, she said, and she no longer feels like she can give her all in streaming. On YouTube, she described streaming as a “hamster wheel” that she no longer wanted to be a part of.

That’s what else is behind it: Pokimane also addresses another downside of living in the public eye: You find yourself in a constant feedback loop of people telling you what they think of you. As a woman in particular, she gets a lot of unsolicited opinions.

Pokimane therefore has the feeling that you only do what people want you to do. There would then be little room to develop as an individual and find out what gives you pleasure.

The retreat from streaming is anything but easy for Pokimane, however, and she became visibly emotional, even shedding a tear or two. She was afraid of disappointing her fans with her decision.

Pokimane does not want to stop streaming completely, she wants to keep this part of her identity. However, gaming and streaming no longer have to be everything. Instead, she wants to have the freedom to produce the content she likes.

Do others feel the same way? Other Twitch streamers also talk about the working conditions of a full-time content creator. While the American jorbs could hardly cope with the success and got anxiety attacks, the case of the German streamer Kalle Koschinsky shows a structural problem.

Twitch has increasingly come under criticism for its seemingly arbitrary ban policy and algorithm that invites self-exploitation. Do you think the streaming platform can continue like this, or does something fundamentally need to change? Feel free to leave us a comment with your opinion.

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