Moist Cr1TiKaL terminates Twitch contract to “try different things on different platforms”

Charlie White has been streaming on Twitch since it was still known as Justin.tv. The man known as Moist Cr1TiKaL is a legend on the Amazon-owned platform, but he’s making a move that will bring his live broadcasts elsewhere. After ending his exclusive streaming agreement with Twitch, White will be able to diversify his content, especially on his YouTube channel.

White announced his new approach in a video he shared on YouTube. He thanked Twitch for allowing him to terminate a contract that prevented him from streaming on other platforms. “Twitch was nice enough to turn our contract into toilet paper,” he said.

The five million fans who follow White on Twitch don’t need to worry about his account going dark anytime soon. He will continue to go live on that platform while simultaneously exploring his options on YouTube and elsewhere. He explained that Twitch’s strict exclusivity clause made it difficult for him to support his Moist Esports business without making his viewers foot the bill.

But the biggest reason for White’s shifting strategy concerns his creativity. By adding YouTube live streams to his schedule, he can try out new broadcast formats that would have previously been limited by his contractual obligations. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do, different types of content in different places,” he said. “YouTube streaming would be a very fun place to try some of our newer bigger projects as opposed to being forced to do them on Twitch.”

White mentioned several projects that could go live as YouTube streams. He wants to broadcast matches from his Moist Wrestling League, and his long-term plans include a Dungeons & Dragons series inspired by the Twitch hit Critical Role.

After making his announcement, White hosted a YouTube stream in which he attempted a speedrun of the game Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. Like his colleague and friend Ludwig Ahgren, White will host his live YouTube broadcasts next to the long-form commentary videos that previously defined his presence on the Google-owned platform.

But there’s a key difference between White’s YouTube presence and Ahgren’s. The latter streamer moved to YouTube after signing a blockbuster contract in 2021. Later, he remarked that YouTube Gaming’s reliance on big-name signings needed to be matched by organic growth. White’s expansion on YouTube is significant because there’s no exclusive contract behind it. It’s a sign of YouTube’s growth as a Twitch competitor.

And then there’s Kick. White hasn’t indicated that he has any plans to join the upstart streaming platform, but several other creators are signing lucrative contracts to bring their broadcasts to the gambling-oriented hub. Two of the latest signees are Fousey and YourRage.