Did Twitch Really Ban PewDiePie?

In an astonishing and unforeseen development, Amazon-owned streaming giant Twitch has banned prominent content creator and internet personality PewDiePie.

This decision is especially noteworthy considering PewDiePie’s staggering following of over 111 million subscribers on YouTube and his status as a highly successful and influential creator in the digital realm.

PewDiePie’s Path to Fame and Twitch Streaming

PewDiePie first rose to prominence by publishing Let’s Play videos on YouTube, capturing his reactions to various action and horror games for millions of global viewers.

Although he had briefly streamed on Twitch—accumulating over 1.5 million followers—his Twitch channel had remained inactive for several years. Thus, on March 21st, the online community was taken aback when PewDiePie’s Twitch channel began streaming episodes of Trailer Park Boys.

After dismissing hacking rumors, PewDiePie’s Twitch channel initiated an endless loop of his past videos under the title “PewDiePie Infinity.” With over 3,000 hours of content on his YouTube channel, the loop offered ample material for intrigued viewers to engage with and discuss in the live chat.

However, on May 9, Twitch unexpectedly banned PewDiePie’s channel without providing a clear explanation.

The Mystery Behind the Ban

The reason for Twitch’s decision to ban PewDiePie remains a subject of speculation among fans.

While Twitch has not offered an explanation, some believe the ban could be linked to the controversial “bridge incident” that took place during a live stream of playerunknown’s Battlegrounds in September 2017, when PewDiePie nearly uttered a racial slur in reaction to an in-game event.

Other theories suggest that Twitch’s branded content policy may be involved. One user noted that PewDiePie’s Twitch channel was automatically streaming VODs of his YouTube videos, which might have violated Twitch’s terms of service since YouTube content guidelines are more relaxed than Twitch’s.

Another user expressed frustration at Twitch’s decision, arguing that the platform had purchased PewDiePie’s videos only to ban him, reflecting Twitch’s mismanagement.

At the time of writing, PewDiePie has not commented on his recent Twitch ban. It remains to be seen if he will reveal any information about the ban’s rationale or its duration.

Hopefully, he’ll get an unban soon just as Amouranth had recently.