Microsoft Axes Mixer, To Push Users To Facebook Gaming Instead

Microsoft is killing its Twitch rival Mixer one month from now and has decided instead to partner with Facebook Gaming instead which means that by July, all Mixer users will now be on Facebook Gaming service instead. Microsoft admits that it is making this move because Mixer couldn’t just live up to its rivals like Twitch and YouTube Gaming

The specific date for this to happen is July 22 and this is quite surprising to many because they have put in some big investment into the platform and even acquired rights to big games like eSports personalities like Ninja and Shroud. This was first reported by The Verge and in that interview, Phil Spencer who is  Microsoft’s head of gaming said, “I think the Mixer community is really going to benefit from the broad audience that Facebook has through their properties, and the abilities to reach gamers in a very seamless way through the social platform Facebook has.”

What is of note is that top streamers won’t be forced to move to Facebook Gaming which means that they can go to a rival platform like Twitch should they choose to. So, when it comes to an end eventually, Microsoft will start redirecting users to Facebook Gaming. This is a welcome boost for Facebook gaming platform which has lagged far behind its rivals. The new partnership is even bigger in that Microsoft says it will also integrate its xCloud game-streaming service into Facebook Gaming. This integration is to make it faster for users to play games from inside Facebook Gaming. On this Spencer says “I don’t think we’re going to have to wait too long to see the outcome of the collaboration between the two companies to enable this tech for Facebook Gaming viewers”.