Bandoot · @Bandootdoot
5th Nov 2021 from TwitLonger
No Longer A Full-Time Beat Saber Content Creator.
Hey everyone, as many of you noticed I've been on a hiatus for about a month now. I have been battling myself mentally for the past few months. At the moment, making Youtube videos and twitch streaming beat saber is my only source of income. I've been fortunate and grateful to have a dedicated audience towards the game, however, I think it's time for me to step down from being a "full time" content creator and return to making this as my side hobby.
After playing beat saber for 3 years, I've noticed that the game gives no room for growth for anyone if they plan on going from beat saber to variety/another main game. Looking at twitchtracker for Beat Saber, In June 2018 the average viewer count from all the streamers combined was 518. Looking at October 2021 the average viewer count was 546. It's actually one of the greatest mysteries. The giant marketing the Beat Saber team had with big artists coming in and providing DLC for the game, why isn't the viewership growing on twitch? You could probably think of an answer. The biggest if I were to guess is because of the high entry cost to play beat saber. I understand you can grow from youtube, but the main problem I personally feel like is "more editing = less views, less editing = more views" which promotes beat saber creators to upload a play of a meme in order to gain fast views since it's quick and easy. On paper this sounds good but in reality these memes are more catered towards children that would laugh so hard if they were under the age of 13. Not only that, but earning the name "Beat Saber youtuber" means if you don't upload beat saber videos, you won't earn as many views which is demotivating for anybody. That discourages from trying new things on your youtube channel. It's difficult maintaining consistent views in the current beat saber landscape it all depends on what meme you decide to upload and if it's even entertaining. Despite the giant views Beat Saber has on Youtube, it almost has no affect with growth in viewership over on twitch. I don't want to feel like I'm trapped into playing 1 game to maintain viewership and income if it isn't worth my mental health taking a hit. Just thinking about making content anything related for beat saber feels draining, probably because I've been associated with the game for so long.
Another topic I wanted to bring up is I'm just growing old to keep up with the competition. Right now in order to gain "high" viewership on twitch is to be skilled + entertaining. I'm deteriorating with my skill as I'm getting older. The game itself does give younger kids the advantage since they have more energy and use less effort to move around. I can't see myself "playing beat saber for a living" trying to get a 93% on ov sacrament as a 30 year old man. I respect those who can score high for sures. I'm 23, I'm still young, as much as I'd love to move on from beat saber and attempt to become a full time variety streamer or hop over to another game, it's just not a financially stable option for me. I've tried multiple times and the unfortunate reality is most people prefer watching Beat Saber. Of course, everyone has their preference and I respect that.
After thinking over about this, Will I stream again? Will I upload a video again? Will I play Beat Saber again? Most definitely, just not as often. Return date is not known at this time since I have to focus with life and find a job that provides stable income. I've always wanted to stream other games and provide a more "comfy/relaxed" while maintaining the energetic part of the streams. I've always wanted my streams to have more of a "16+ chat" mentality, you know the ones where kids don't ask if I like cheese and at the same time those who know how to use LUL at the right times. It's truly difficult to have that when you bring your beat saber youtube audience over to twitch. Many of those people lack twitch culture and even after attempting to educate them on how twitch emotes work, I feel like my efforts have no avail. Honestly, I want to see this as like a reset button. I want to have fun streaming while not stressing about low viewership or not making enough money from a single stream. I want to find passion for another game and if I feel like making content for that one game then I will. For me Beat Saber has been an amazing, a life changing experience. I've met a lot of great people and I appreciate everyone that has supported me throughout the years. It's been a fun ride and I hope the game and its community continues to be successful. Thank you for joining me on this journey It's been an honor. doot7
I'll still be around twitter and discord :)