Pokimane is going to be streaming video games on Twitch less often

Pokimane, one of Twitch’s top creators, has announced that she’ll be cutting down on the amount of time she spends streaming and playing video games on the platform. She’s not retiring from streaming completely — it’s more that she’ll be broadening the kinds of content she makes, by sharing more lifestyle content, and will only stream when she wants to. “I’ll see you guys when I see you,” she said in a YouTube video on Thursday.

Pokimane managed to find the strength to speak to her viewers about the changes in the video. She described her history as a creator and that she’s been on the content grind for roughly nine years since she started streaming at the age of 17. She talked about the “rat race” of Twitch streaming and how draining it can be to chase every trend. Following a July streaming break, Pokimane announced the announcement.

“Whether you guys realize it or not there’s such a pressure on streamers to follow every trend, to capitalize on viewership, to stream longer than the guy next to them or the guy that they share similar viewership with. It’s just a hyper competitive industry,” she said. “I’m just at a point in my life where it doesn’t feel creatively fulfilling to feed into that anymore.”

Instead, she says she’ll post more of what interests her, both inside and outside of games. Fans can look forward to more lifestyle content, such as vlogs and fit photos, on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

The creator also noted that she’s been enjoying her time on other social media platforms. For example, she’s able to connect with a predominately female audience on TikTok over interests outside of streaming. “I feel like other platforms fit into my lifestyle now a days, a little bit better. Streaming and gaming does fit in there, it just doesn’t have to be everything.”

This shift is indicative of a widening of her brand. She has long been a well-known figure in the video game content creation industry and an exit from Twitch. Her announcement comes as another reason for content creators to move away from Amazon’s owned platform in a world that sees more streamers moving to YouTube from Twitch.

The video ended with more emotion and tears. “It’s hard not to feel like it’s closing a chapter, but instead it’s really just opening more doors; Stepping into a new phase and chapter of my life.”