Twitch has once again amassed controversy after testing a new type of ad when viewers watch a stream.
These new ads, which were first rolled out as a test earlier this month, occur when the stream is paused. Moreover, when the ad is minimized or muted, non-ad interstitials appear, which replace the ad that would otherwise be shown. In short, users have no escape from these ads.
In an X post explaining the change, Twitch said it was running this experiment as part of a goal to make adverts "less intrusive."
However, intrusion might not be the problem.
Viewers have slammed the changes
Countless Twitch users have called out the innovation for causing streams to run behind.
One user, who shared a screenshot of the new test in action, wrote: "Twitch continues to deteriorate as a platform because what do you mean I can't TAB OUT TO MY SECOND MONITOR DURING THE AD BREAK I NEED TO FOCUS THE TAB AND THE WINDOW FOR THE AD TO PLAY??????" Then, addressing/tagging Twitch directly, the user added: "What the f**k is wrong with you?"
"So now Twitch wants your data AND wants to force you to watch ads, or they'll pause the stream until you come back to watch the AD," a second complained.
Meanwhile, a third user pointed out a certain irony, writing: "They be doing [expletive] like this to the people who actually watch the ads, but they still haven't fixed blocking the ads entirely."
And a fourth complained: "5 ads in a row on Twitch is crazy guys srsly. Like I rlly wanna support my favourite creators but seeing “1 of 5” is rlly disheartening."
Meanwhile, a fifth admitted: "I actively mute ads and look away from the TV or my phone when they run, it's almost a sport for me. This is more than enough for me to abandon a platform completely, insane dystopian stuff here."
In order to avoid these ads, users have the option to pay for Twitch Turbo or Twitch Prime.
But as a sixth user pointed out, the chances of that happening are unlikely. "I find it interesting that these platforms KNOW the people on them hate ads, and most will *not* open up their wallets for Twitch Prime just to not see ads everywhere. But they still do it," they wrote.
"Guys. This is an abysmal change. Are your advertisers requiring that the user not only be distributed ads, but they have to be WATCHING them? What's next? Forced interaction to skip ads?"
Twitch didn't immediately respond to The Daily Dot's request for comment via email.
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