Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced that it is closing the Mixer Service, and it plans to move its existing partners to Facebook Gaming.
Microsoft to transition Mixer partners and viewers to Facebook Gaming
The company made the surprise announcement on July 22, which means that Mixer streamers and partners will now be shifted to Facebook Gaming. In a month from the day of the announcement, Microsoft will not be operating Mixer as a service. The company has struggled to compete with the likes of YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook gaming to hit the required scale.
Phil Spencer, the company’s head of gaming indicated that the company lagged in monthly active Mixer viewers relative to some of the industry’s big players. Spencer added that he was optimistic that the Mixer community will benefit significantly from the broad audience the Facebook offers through its properties.
Known initially as Beam.io before the acquisition by Microsoft, Mixer has writhed for viewership since its launch. Although big streamer purchases such as Shroud and Ninja drew viewers, it lacked the appeal needed by Microsoft and Xbox. This led to the launch of Xbox’s streaming service, Xbox Series X, and xCloud.
Microsoft looking to benefit from Facebook’s large audience
Spencer explained that the move was not about recouping a return on investment but rather about what was best for Xbox’s future strategies. He added that when thinking about xCloud and the chance to unlock gaming for almost 2 billion gamers, they see Facebook offering a large audience, which will be a massive opportunity for Microsoft.
In the coming weeks, the company will transition all the Mixer streamers and viewers to Facebook Gaming. The Mixer apps and sites are automatically redirecting to Facebook Gaming for now. The current Mixer partners will receive partner status, and the streamers that are using Mixer’s monetization program will be eligible to use the Level up a program of Facebook. For the Mixer viewers having outstanding Ember balances Mixer Pro subscriptions and channel subscriptions, they will be given Xbox git card credit.
