Twitch will begin carrying out updates in the coming months to alter subscription rates depending on the user’s location. This would effectively lower the cost of Twitch subscriptions in most countries, but it will also impact streamers’ overall earnings.
One of the most popular ways Twitch streamers make money is by subscriptions. Fans can pay for their preferred channels on a monthly basis at various tiers, and they can even pay the streamers directly. Twitch Partners keep 50 percent of the monthly fee, while the platform keeps the remaining 50 percent.
Subscribers get perks such as special emotes in exchange. A Twitch membership costs $4.99 at Tier 1 because although both nations are paid the equivalency of USD, $5 in one country isn’t worth the same as $5 in another.
We’re rolling out one of the biggest changes in Twitch history, which will help creators build larger, more global communities: Local Subs Pricing.
The price of a sub in most countries will be lowered, starting with Mexico and Turkey.
Learn more: https://t.co/LzKQxynb5B pic.twitter.com/zNBeRC4WyO
— Twitch (@Twitch) May 17, 2021
Twitch intends to change the price of subscriptions, including current subs, new paying subs, and gift subs, proportionally to the cost of living in most countries in the future. Mexico and Turkey will be the first countries to be hit by this move on May 20, with a Tier 1 sub costing 48 pesos, $2.42, 9.90 Turkish Lire, or $1.19, respectively.
The reasons for these updates, according to Twitch, are dependent on both user input and statistics. Twitch says in a blog post about the move that “we’ve learned from fans everywhere that it’s not equally affordable” to fund Twitch streamers with subs.
This price strategy has reduced the number of people who can subscribe to their favorite Twitch streamers. According to Twitch, the percentage of users with subscriptions in Europe and Asia is about half that of North America, and in Latin America, the number is about 80% smaller.
These updates will be available to users in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe in Q3 2021. Twitch included a connection to all countries with price model adjustments at some point in the blog post.
One disadvantage of this new pricing model is that Twitch streamers with subscriptions all over the world, especially in North America, will see their incomes impacted. Pokimane’s fans in Mexico, for example, will now spend just 48 pesos to subscribe to her at Tier 1, implying that she will only receive $2.42 from them rather than $4.99. On the other hand, Twitch predicts that as the service becomes more affordable around the world, more people will pay.
