New Twitch Feature Got So Much Backlash It Was Immediately Removed

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As a big Twitch fan, I was really surprised by the whole gifted sub situation. They rolled out a new feature letting people gift subs, but the reaction was immediately negative, and they pulled it within 24 hours! What was so weird was that it wasn’t the viewers complaining – it was the streamers themselves who were upset with the change. It just goes to show you, even something that seems helpful, like gifted subs, can backfire if it’s not done right.

Twitch streamers have several ways to earn money directly on the platform. Viewers can donate using ‘bits,’ pay for monthly subscriptions, or even gift subscriptions to others. When someone gifts a subscription, it’s a fun moment for everyone involved – the gifter can choose to reward active viewers, and the streamer earns more money. However, a recent change Twitch made hasn’t been well-received by the community.

Twitch Streamers Revolt Against New Sub Gifting Option

Twitch recently increased the number of subscriptions viewers can gift to streamers in a single purchase. Previously, the limit was 100 subs, but it’s now been raised to 1,000. While a full bundle of 1,000 subs would typically cost around $6,000 (at the standard $5.99 per sub), Twitch offered a discounted price of $5,000. Although it seems like a large amount, popular streamers quickly started receiving the maximum gift. Many streamers weren’t even aware of the change, with one streamer, Emiru, initially questioning if the notification was legitimate.

While some streamers might see this as a positive change, many took to social media to voice their concerns. Several worried that viewers might feel pressured to gift the maximum amount of subscriptions, even if they couldn’t afford it. Streamer Ludwig pointed out that Twitch consistently adds features to increase its own revenue without improving the user experience, specifically the mobile app. Another common concern was that the new option to gift 1,000 subscriptions could be exploited for trolling, as someone could potentially make a purchase and then request a refund, leaving the streamer financially burdened.

The day after the change, Twitch brought back the original limit of 100 gifted subscriptions, removing the temporary 1,000 sub option. Twitch hasn’t said why it made this change, but many think the negative reaction from users caused them to revert it. Some are skeptical, though, pointing out that Twitch is currently offering a discount on multiple gifted subs and might not have wanted to include the 1,000 sub offer in that sale. They could have excluded the 1,000 sub option from the discount if that was the issue. Streamers are now watching to see if the feature returns on December 1st.

Twitch streamers are right to be worried about this new limit on gifting subscriptions. In 2024, popular streamers Kai Cenat and CaseOh both received large gifts – over 2,000 and 1,000 subscriptions, respectively – which caused concern. Cenat even panicked on his stream, realizing a large portion of the $11,000+ worth of gifted subs likely came from a child using a parent’s credit card. While Twitch recently allowed gifting a thousand subs at once, users could always gift smaller amounts repeatedly, leading to similar situations before.

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2025-11-28 09:04