Twitch Updates Subscription Prices in Four Countries
Twitch Subscription Price Update, Increases in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Turkey
- Twitch has released a statement detailing an increase to their Subscription service in four countries.
- In Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom Tier 1 Subs are all increasing by 1 equivalent dollar in each of those countries.
- In Turkey the price for all three tiers of subscriptions are increasing in price with a Tier 1 Sub increasing to TRY43.90 and a Tier 3 Sub to TRY215.90.
On February 20th Twitch released a blog detailing a price increase to their subscriptions on the streaming platform that would affect four countries. In Canada, Australia and the United Kingdoms, Twitch users are seeing their Tier 1 Subscription cost rise the equivalent of a dollar in that region, but those in Turkey are seeing insane price bumps in all three tiers across Twitch. According to the Amazon owned company the reason for the increase is “to help streamer revenue keep pace with rising costs and reflect local currency fluctuations.”
While that may well be a byproduct of the price increase, finding ways to make Twitch profitable has been something Amazon has struggled with since its acquisition of the streaming platform.
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Twitch Increases in Canada, Australia and UK
While the price increases in three of the four countries may be annoying for gamers, bumping up the price by a single dollar shouldn’t be too much of a bump in the road for most. These price changes will come into effect on March 28 and will be for regular subscriptions and gift subscriptions.
Existing subscriptions will automatically renew at the new price with no action required on the end of the user. Twitch says that existing subscribers will be notified via email one month prior to the change taking effect. They also point out that streamers will continue to earn the same amount with Prime subs, but remind streamers that on June 3rd that will be changing based on the country in which you live.
Turkey’s Massive Increase in Twitch Subscription
Twitch users in Turkey are seeing a crazy increase in their subs across all three tiers, with a 331% increase for a tier 3 subscription, and even the tier 1 undergoing a 343% increase from TRY9.90 to TRY43.9.
The price increase for Turkish gamers and streamers seems insane, but the country is dealing with soaring inflation rates that have hit an all-time high this year. While I’m no economist, charging any amount in double digits for a tier one subscription on Twitch so that you can use a few emotes, seems questionable.
Why Increase Sub Prices?
In a year where so many people have lost their jobs in the tech, gaming and esports sector, the blog post by Twitch mentions a second time that that price increase is to drive more revenue to streamers. Something that could also be accomplished with different subscription splits with Amazon, but this way they get a bit more money too.
“Streamers will continue to receive the same net revenue share on subs and gift subs, so this price increase allows you to receive more per subscription. The increased revenue per sub that Twitch receives helps us maintain and build for the long-term future of streaming.”
The biggest question on everyone else's mind should be, is this the end of it? Did the United States and other countries dodge the sub price increase? And the answer isn’t a great one, but it seems to be…for now. In the blog post Twitch does state, “We anticipate there will be additional price changes for other countries this year and will communicate them well before they take effect.”
Keep your eyes open for more changes and remember that when they come, you’ll need to adjust your subscriptions on your own as price changes will not interrupt your automatic payments.
For more on the pricing changes to Twitch you can view the full blog post here.
