In a string of four tweets, Twitch CEO and last remaining co-founder of Justin.tv, Emmett Shear, laid to bear his recent resignation while also gazing into the past of his career. Beginning in October 2006, as Shear himself recounts, Twitch first took form as the burgeoning executive joined fellow co-creators Michael and Justin in a cross-country trip to San Francisco. Today, the platform now claims host to 31 million daily active users and, from January 2018 to December 2022, saw approximately 7.03 million active streamers.
In October 2006 we started working on live video for the internet. That became Twitch. More than 16 years later, I'm now a father and ready to move to my next phase of life. I wrote a blog post, but the short version is: thank you so much to everyone who built this with me.
— Emmett Shear (@eshear) March 16, 2023
It wasn't exactly a smooth ride, though. Twitch, which was initially called Justin.tv before it took up the mantle in 2014, was actually a spin-off platform that leveraged gaming as its major draw. Amazon no sooner scooped up the still-growing live streaming platform at a whopping $970 million in the same year. While even more impactful today, the cultural zeitgeist that swirls around Twitch proved to draw an assortment of popularity across esports, gaming, and content creation.
Over the course of the past several years, however, Twitch has been embroiled in a swath of controversies, the most prominent among them being hot tub streams, gambling, and hate raids. Creators themselves have come under fire, more recently witnessed in Atrioc's deepfake scandal, which has led to several positive outcomes.
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Through thick and thin, Twitch has survived multiple scandals, yet still is situated on a fast track of stardom. From the leakage of Twitch star earnings to the loss of valuable talent, like Ludwig and Sykkuno, the platform remains the most popular space for live streamed content. As a dad himself, Shear likens Twitch to a child, yet also highlights its now 16 years of age as being time enough for him to take a step back.
"So, it is with great poignancy that I share my decision to resign from Twitch as CEO," Shear wrote. "I want to be fully there for my son as he enters this world and I feel ready for this change to tackle new challenges."
Shear added that he will continue to work at Twitch under an advisory role. Stepping into his shoes will be the current acting president of Twitch, Dan Clancy, the very same individual who posted last year's reworking on Twitch's subscription revenue shares. To say these new rules were met with more than a little hostility would be an understatement, yet despite the distaste Shear seems adamant on Clancy's new role.
Clancy himself gave some words on the leadership reowkring to TechCrunch, citing Emmett's 16 years of dedication as being "inspiring and empowering" for the entire team. Clancy adds, "I'm so grateful for his partnership over the last four years, and for the opportunity to continue this work alongside a team that cares so deeply about our streamers and the larger Twitch community."
Shear's departure is a sad one for most, given he marks as the last co-founder of the platform, but fresh leadership should usher in some welcome changes and alterations to Twitch as rivals like Kick and YouTube grow in popularity.
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