Ludwig Ahgren is the latest addition to YouTube Gaming’s growing arsenal of prolific streamers switching over from Twitch. He joins the likes of Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop, and Rachel ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter to stream exclusively on YouTube.
Ludwig holds the record for the most active subs on Twitch, thanks to his idea for a month-long ‘Subathon’. According to TwitchTracker, he broke Ninja’s record of 269,154 peak active subs, reaching 283,066.
YouTube’s Head of Gaming, Ryan Wyatt, also announced this signing on Twitter as he laid down his plans for growing the platform. "I'm excited to announce @LudwigAhgren will now be streaming exclusively on @YouTubeGaming. Our focus is building a world class VOD, short form, and live platform,” he wrote. He also mentioned how the YouTube team doesn’t plan to stop there, which means more streamers could switch to YouTube Gaming.
This move follows a trend as YouTube recently signed two of the biggest Twitch personalities, TimTheTatman and DrLupo, to stream exclusively on its platform. In addition to this, YouTube also has Dr Disrespect, who is currently looking to sue Twitch owing to his permanent ban in 2020.
Ludwig had already hinted towards his move to YouTube right after DrLupo’s announcement surfaced. He also mentioned that he had some ‘secret info’ on other streamers leaving Twitch for the site, but did not mention that he was one of them. One of the reasons he believed streamers were switching is because Twitch wasn’t offering lucrative exclusive contracts.
Despite the possible mass exodus of streamers, Twitch seems to be holding its own against YouTube Gaming. According to a Stream Hatchet Q3 2021 report, Twitch had a 41% increase in year-on-year viewership growth while YouTube Gaming saw a 12% decline. Clearly, Twitch is unfazed by the recent moves made by streamers, but it needs to be careful if others follow suit.
Ludwig’s addition to YouTube Gaming should definitely be a wake-up call for Twitch considering there are a lot of fires the platform needs to put out - like dealing with frequent hate raids and doxxing - if it wants to retain its stars.