If you’re one of the many PC/console gamers in the region, chances are you have definitely heard of Twitch. Although Amazon bought them out years ago for close to $1 Billion, they’ve been running it independently as game streaming has been on the rise in the past years.
Now, they have a surprise for current and new subscribers – Twitch is officially reducing and adjusting their subscription pricing with the new Local Subscription Pricing. The announcement came from their Twitter account, linking to a more in-depth blog post with justifications and more.
Change in pricing
The standard price for a Twitch subscription has been $4.99 for Tier 1, regardless of your location. Price goes up depending on your preferred tier as they have their own set of perks (Note that Twitch Prime is free for Amazon Prime subscribers). The revised pricing applies to both current and new subscribers (including gift subscriptions), adjusted to better reflect the cost of living in each of the countries.
Most countries will be seeing a reduction in the subscription price, and this will be done in the coming few months in Q3 2021. Countries in the Middle East and South Asia region that will see this new change are:
- Bahrain
- Egypt
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Turkey (will see new pricing changes from May 20, 2021)
- India
- Pakistan
- Sri Lanka
For the creators, viewers in Twitch channels will see different prices due to the Local Subscription Pricing. A viewer’s subscription price will be based on where they live and the set up of their Twitch payment method. This makes it affordble for viewers to still support their favourite creators.
Softening the impact on Twitch creators
In the short run, the reduced pricing will mean less money for popular streamers. Once the pricing transition is complete, this will translate to more subscribers and higher earnings for creators.
To help smothen out this transition, Twitch is launchign a 12-month program that guarantees a level of revenue for eligible creators. The aim is to help soften the sudden dip with the shift to the new pricing model. The full terms and eligibility criteria can be seen on their Help page (Creators can also check their dashboard under Channel Analytics for their eligibility).
Twitch works on desktop/laptops (Windows, macOS, and Linux), gaming consoles (PlayStation 4, Xbox One (X), etc.), and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
