The top streamers and gaming influencers on Twitch have been making millions of dollars entertaining fans across the world. A large majority of that income comes from user subscriptions and daily "donations" or "tips" that allow fans to highlight their message and, in some cases, speak directly to the streamer.

However, the culture of streamer donations is slowly changing. Gaming personality Pokimane made headlines when she limited her donations to a $5 maximum and other top influencers like DisguisedToast and Pewdiepie did the same when they disabled donations entirely on their channel.

Holiday generosity

Ben "CohhCarnage" Cassell, the family-friendly streamer most well known for embracing an active community of back-seat gamers, Twitch community has also had a change of heart about Twitch donations:

The generosity of Cohh is not without warrant, as his moderation team is one of the most efficient in all of Twitch. Through their work, Cohh has been able to curate one of the most civil and friendly communities on the platform. Paid mods isn't a new concept, but the decision to funnel all stream tips directly to his team has made a spot on Cohh's mod team especially valuable. 

Cohh Carnage provided Inven Global with the following statement regarding the announcement:

“With the constant support of my community, the backing of my excellent management team and recently signing with Twitch, it was time to get even more involved in getting support to the ones that help make this show what it is. We do a 'Mod Day' each month to help the team but it just wasn't enough. It's time for the next step.”

A change in culture

As gaming personalities continue to accumulate wealth from their fans, this trend will likely continue.  It is a safe bet to expect more top streamers to make similar decisions around donations and tips, as the massive amounts of wealth they accrue draws significant amounts of criticism from some parts of the gaming community.

Critics of stream donations highlight the somewhat problematic nature of offering gamers a community while simultaneously charging them to interact with you on a daily basis. While the Twitch community at large collectively frowns upon aggressive strategies to encourage donations, it still remains one of the most profitable elements of streaming culture.