Twitch's cosmetic mission

Twitch's product strategy continues to appear completely unhinged.

Before I reveal their latest release, let's take a quick step back.

A decade of struggle. Twitch was acquired in 2014 for about $1 billion. In almost exactly a decade, Twitch has yet to generate a profit (according to CEO Dan Clancy). In January 2024, Twitch laid off 500 employees, or about 35% of their workforce, in an effort to reach profitability.

Ok. Now, with all this context in mind, here's the big reveal:

Twitch introduced usability improvements to the ad platform. More specifically, it's now easier for streamers to control the density of their ads with a fancy new slider.

Wait, no. That's it? That can't be.

looks around in confusion

It really is it.

Looking at Twitch's latest product releases should have provided clues. Here's what made it to production lately:

• Automatic ad length & frequency. Streamers control the length & frequency of the ads they serve.

• Chat countdown timer. Streamers can display a countdown to... do something? Warn viewers of upcoming ads, perhaps? Letting them know now's a good time for a toilet break and, you know, not actually see the ads.

• Auto snooze. When enabled, ads are automatically stopped from rolling if the streamer is experiencing high engagement.

• Disable pre-roll ads. Streamers control whether new viewers are served an ad when first joining the stream.

What's good for the goose. Here's my quandary with this string of feature releases: these features are great... for streamers & viewers. Fewer ads? Fantastic!

But what about the bottom line? Isn't Twitch, y'a know, desperate for cash?

Twitch could make a case that offering an excellent experience to streamers and viewers will eventually turn into cash in the future. Maybe. But, so far, Twitch's product strategy seems to focus on cosmetic improvements with little chance of impact (if any) on the bottom line.