Twitch will cease operating in Korea, CEO says costs are too high

Despite being one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world, Twitch has more than its share of problems. Recently, the company announced 180 employees were being laid off, and now it’s having to cease operations in Korea.

In a recent blog post, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has said the service will shut down business in Korea, effective February 27, 2024. The statement goes on to say that it was a “difficult decision” but the “the cost to operate” Twitch in the country is “prohibitively expensive.”

Clancy explains that the company had spent time trying to reduce the cost of running in Korea, saying that the team “experimented with a peer-to-peer model for source quality.” All efforts appear to be in vain, though, with the platform saying it’s been “operating at a loss.”

What happens to Korean streamers?

Obviously, this means that anyone in Korea who uses Twitch to broadcast won’t be able to come the end of February. In the blog post, Clancy says streamers who “devoted significant time and effort into building their communities” will be helped.

The company will “work to help Twitch streamers in Korea move their communities to alternative livestreaming services.” Sadly, those who are perhaps not on Twitch’s radar will unlikely be given a hand.

Last month, it was also announced that Twitch was being dropped from the Nintendo Switch, owing to numerous and recurring issues with the app. The Amazon-owned service will no doubt continue to dominate the streaming market, but these avenues being closed off will no doubt be harmful for business.