Streaming star Pokimane leaves Twitch

Pokimane, the world's most popular streamer with 9.3 million subscribers, has announced her departure from streaming platform Twitch, giving no indication of what she plans to do next, AFP reports.

"The end of an era," the 27-year-old Moroccan-Canadian said in a message posted on her X and Instagram accounts, accompanied by a photo of the Twitch app.

Pokimane, whose real name is Imane Anis, was one of the stars of Amazon's video game streaming platform, which regularly featured her and on which she streamed her games of "League of Legends" or "Fortnite" for more than a decade.

"What an amazing journey," Twitch responded to X, adding that she'll "always have a place" with them.

The streamer did not immediately indicate whether she was joining another streaming platform or if her departure was synonymous with a career break.

In recent years, many streaming stars have left Amazon's platform in favor of competitors like Google's YouTube Live and the recently launched Kick. That streaming service, which launched in 2022, promised creators more freedom and better revenue distribution.

In recent months, a number of users have also announced that they are ending their online careers, including American Matthew Patrick (18.9 million YouTube subscribers) and Briton Tom Scott (6.4 million YouTube subscribers), citing fatigue with participating in this sphere.

Pokimane's departure is the latest blow for Twitch, which in early January announced it would have to lay off 500 employees as part of sweeping job cuts introduced by Amazon. According to some media reports, this represents about a third of the workforce. / BGNES