Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced that he will begin streaming on YouTube Gaming following the news that Microsoft will shut down Mixer. His first stream on YouTube ever premiered today, July 8.

Ninja left Twitch in 2019 to join Mixer, but since the service will no longer exist at the end of July, all eyes were on Ninja to see whether he would return to Twitch or choose another platform. Ninja reportedly declined to join Facebook’s streaming service.

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Ninja made waves back in 2019 when he announced that he signed a deal with Microsoft to stream exclusively on Mixer. However, Microsoft has since announced that it will be shutting down Mixer and redirect streamers to Facebook instead. The news that Mixer was shutting down created tremors throughout the world of internet streaming. Partnered Mixer streamers were offered immediate partner status with Facebook Gaming, but for many other streamers it was a sudden and swift loss of both a platform and potential income.

Meanwhile, Ninja, who reportedly signed an exclusivity deal rumored to be worth millions, declined to sign a similar deal with Facebook Gaming. He’s since largely stuck to posting videos and updates on his YouTube channel.

Ninja rose the prominence with the advent of Fortnite Battle Royale. Despite being a pro Halo player for years, Ninja’s career exploded alongside the popularity of Epic’s battle royale shooter. Ninja has since become one of the most recognizable video game streamer, and has made inroads into mainstream culture with appearances on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Source: IGN.com Ninja Starts Streaming on YouTube Gaming