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The popular game streaming platform Twitch is now stuck in China after experiencing a surge in popularity in this country. The site is no longer accessible in mainland China and the application has quietly disappeared from Apple's App Store, according to Abacus News.
A representative from Twitch confirmed that the service is blocked in an email at Variety Friday morning, but did not explain why. But Abacus said that this initiative comes just a month after the soaring popularity of the app, becoming the third most popular free app on the App Store. A large number of Chinese esports fans have apparently flooded the service to watch the latest Asian Games. It was the first time that sports were included in the international sporting event. It was presented as a demonstration sport, which means that medals won in matches were not counted in the official medal count.
Twitch is arguably the most popular destination for streaming video games. Last year, it had more than 15 million unique visitors a day who watched about 355 billion minutes of video. This is partly due to the massive popularity of Epic Games "Fortnite" Royal Battle title and best broadcaster Tyler "Ninja" Blevins, who is the first person to reach 10 million followers on the platform. But, according to Abacus, its reach in China was limited because it was much slower inside the country.
Some say the move does not bode well for Valve, which recently partnered with Perfect World Entertainment to formally introduce the Steam digital video game showcase in China.
China is currently the world's largest video gaming market, valued at more than $ 25 billion in 2016, according to a report by IHS Markit. It would account for a quarter of all the money generated by video games around the world.
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