In case you hadn’t heard, any casual or professional streamer can make money by continuing to do what they’re already doing. It has now been a month since Hitbox’s revenue sharing program went live. While there have been an influx of numbers, it has remained the same old Hitbox.
Hitbox’s revenue sharing program promotes up and coming streamers
On July 31st, the Partner Program from Hitbox.tv became officially open to anyone. It means all broadcasters can participate in revenue sharing by utilizing video advertisements and viewer subscriptions. This is unlike Twitch, who requires minimum viewership numbers. According to Hitbox CEO Martin Klimscha, they chose this model because it doesn’t ignore smaller audiences or those who choose “unique, lesser-known titles over the eSports giants.”
In addition, everyone has access to the tools that used to be exclusive:
Custom chat-emotes & badges for your subscribers as well as exclusive subscriber-only giveaways, chat and polls. These enhancements allow you to reward loyal viewers and grow your fanbase. For viewers, this is an opportunity to show their appreciation and support their favorite broadcasters.
-Xaly, Hitbox News Writer
There are still huge advantages to those who are partnered, but now everyone can utilize streaming in any way they see fit. For example, many people have done charity runs through Hitbox without needing to go through the usual Twitch process of being “popular” first. While gamers are typically charitable and boost charity runs anyway, Hitbox has just made it a lot easier.
@NPCMook Teams are still a relevant part of our partnership program, and will have options that the new program does not.
— hitbox (@hitboxlive) July 31, 2015
The aftermath is only
It’s all been kind of a big deal and gamers thought so too. The update has brought forth the biggest rush to Hitbox since their 2014 multilingual introduction of Germany, Romania, and Poland.
The dedicated community is as enthusiastic as ever as Hitbox continues to grow. They went to PAX Prime and Gamescom, met viewers, sponsored giveaways, partnered with DXseat, and have official support from Xsplit. All within the span of a month!
They are currently at almost 43,000 followers on Twitter. Although that’s not even half of Twitch’s, the community as a whole appears to be happier with the progress (and money) being made. Across Twitter you will find streamers who are accustomed to immediate responses from the Hitbox team.
Hitbox encourages streamers to play what they want, when they want with the revenue share program, which has provided a smaller, close-knit space for dedicated fans. The opportunities Hitbox has provided continue to grow, while Twitch time and time again upsets their fanbase. With the launch of YouTube Gaming, there may be a new contender in the race.
However, it may be disappointing to some Hitbox fans that the high-quality alternative is being left out of the conversation. Hitbox has their sights set on taking the industry by storm and although they’ve made great progress, they’re going to need a lot more than Poland to keep afloat.
