Microsoft has announced the sudden closure of its streaming platform - Mixer.

The company has also partnered with Facebook Gaming in an effort to redirect existing fans to Facebook's gaming arm. 

Creators on Mixer will have one month to save all of their VODs and pre-existing content before the site closes down completely. Current Mixer Partners will be granted immediate Partner status on Facebook Gaming should they choose to move over to the platform.

"Ultimately, the success of Partners and streamers on Mixer is dependent on our ability to scale the platform for them as quickly and broadly as possible," Mixer said in a blog post.

"It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform."

Market share

Mixer launched in 2016 but has struggled to keep up alongside video giants Twitch and YouTube. It also lagged behind Facebook Gaming, which managed to secure a larger share of the market by Q4 2019, one year after launching its dedicated streaming space.

Microsoft's streaming offering enjoyed time in the sun in August 2019 after snapping up Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins in what was rumoured to be a $30m exclusivity deal. The move encouraged a number of other big streamers to migrate over to Mixer, including Michael 'Shroud' Grzesiek. The pair are now no longer tied to their existing exclusivity deals with Mixer.

I love my community and what we built together on Mixer. I have some decisions to make and will be thinking about you all as I make them.

— Ninja (@Ninja) June 22, 2020