After a three-year hiatus, popular YouTube streamer and Call of Duty enthusiast Timothy “TimTheTatman” has officially returned to Twitch, much to the excitement of his fans. The 34-year-old content creator made the surprise announcement on X (formerly Twitter), simply stating, “I’m back btw,” along with a link to his Twitch stream. What makes this return even more significant is that TimTheTatman is now multi-streaming, broadcasting live on both Twitch and YouTube simultaneously.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, multi-streaming allows content creators to stream their gameplay or other content across multiple platforms at the same time. This enables them to engage with a broader audience, catering to the unique communities they’ve built on different sites. Twitch’s decision to allow multi-streaming, a policy change implemented in October 2023, has opened new avenues for streamers who previously faced restrictions against broadcasting on multiple platforms simultaneously.
TimTheTatman’s return to Twitch marks a notable shift in the streaming landscape. Known for his deep connection to the Call of Duty franchise, TimTheTatman has been a prominent figure in the gaming community, regularly streaming titles like Black Ops 6. He was even present during the multiplayer beta launch at the Call of Duty: NEXT event in August 2024, further solidifying his status as a top-tier gaming influencer.
In 2021, TimTheTatman made the bold move to leave Twitch, where he had amassed an impressive 6 million followers, in favor of an exclusive streaming deal with YouTube Gaming. Over the next three years, he focused solely on building his presence on YouTube, where his subscriber count grew to 5.44 million. His return to Twitch, therefore, signals a significant moment not just for his followers but for the broader streaming community as well.
Interestingly, TimTheTatman is not the only major streamer to embrace multi-streaming. Benjamin “DrLupo” recently announced a similar move via an X post, revealing that he, too, would be multi-streaming on both Twitch and YouTube starting in September 2024. DrLupo, who has 1.89 million subscribers on YouTube and 4.5 million followers on Twitch, expressed that this change would be applied to “every stream,” allowing him to reach a broader audience.
The return of TimTheTatman, DrLupo, and FaZe Swagg to Twitch has sparked significant interest among viewers, particularly as their YouTube exclusivity contracts have expired. While TimTheTatman’s viewership on Twitch has seen a near-even split, with about 60% favoring Twitch over YouTube, DrLupo’s experience has been vastly different. His Twitch viewership overwhelmingly outnumbers his YouTube audience, with a ratio ranging from 3:1 to 4:1 in favor of Twitch.
For FaZe Swagg, the decision to return to Twitch is even more definitive; he has opted to discontinue YouTube streaming altogether in favor of focusing entirely on Twitch. This trend underscores a broader preference among viewers for Twitch as the go-to platform for live streaming, despite YouTube’s efforts to close the gap with its own streaming offerings.
In conclusion, TimTheTatman’s return to Twitch, alongside his decision to multi-stream, marks a pivotal moment in his career and the streaming industry as a whole. As top-tier content creators like him and DrLupo navigate this evolving landscape, it will be fascinating to see how their audiences respond and how these platforms continue to compete for dominance in the live-streaming space.