Twitch Korea to Shut Down in February 2024
South Korea is a major esports market, particularly for League of Legends.
Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, Twitch, has announced that it will cease operations in South Korea on February 27th, 2024. In a blog post, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy attributed the decision to the prohibitive costs of operating in the country, which has left the business running at a significant loss.
Operating costs in South Korea are reportedly up to 10 times higher than those of most other countries, largely due to local regulations requiring foreign companies to pay high network usage fees. Given the substantial amount of data usage that accompanies livestreaming, these fees have quickly accumulated, rendering the platform’s presence in the country unsustainable.
“Twitch has been operating in Korea at a significant loss, and unfortunately there is no pathway forward for our business to run more sustainably in that country,” Clancy said in the blog post.
To ease the transition for Korea-based streamers, Twitch has pledged to assist in moving their communities to alternative services available in the country. Rival platforms, such as AfreecaTV and YouTube, continue to offer livestreaming options. Furthermore, South Korean telecommunications powerhouse, Naver, recently announced a closed beta test of a new game streaming service, with a full rollout anticipated for 2024.
Twitch has previously attempted to mitigate costs by reducing source quality to 720p and implementing peer-to-peer experiments; however, these endeavors have failed to alleviate the financial burden sufficiently. The potential impact on the local esports industry and other related communities remains unclear at this time.
Nonetheless, Twitch’s closure in South Korea may prove to be a significant blow for those who rely on the platform.
Twitch’s departure from the South Korean market also leaves room for competitors to seize upon this opportunity. Naver’s streaming service is just one of several services vying for the attention of gamers and esports enthusiasts in South Korea. Other popular options include major game publishers like Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment, as well as domestic platforms such as AfreecaTV and YouTube Gaming Live – all of whom will no doubt benefit from Twitch’s exit.
For now, it remains uncertain what effect Twitch’s absence will have on local communities; however, many players are already beginning to seek out alternative solutions. With more and more local platforms available, esports fans in South Korea should have plenty of options for streaming their favorite games.
At Esportport, we are committed to providing the best experience possible for our users and will continue to monitor the situation closely. We’ll do everything we can to ensure that our players stay connected with one another regardless of which services they choose. As always, you can count on us for reliable support and resources as you explore new ways to enjoy the world of competitive gaming.
