Game designer hits out at streamers getting “free ride” from their games

The debate over whether streamers should share revenue with developers has reignited in Japan, as more creators question whether exposure on Twitch and YouTube actually helps their games.

Streaming has often been credited with fueling breakout hits. Rust surged back into the spotlight in 2021 when OfflineTV launched a private server featuring top personalities, and the renewed attention pushed it past a million concurrent viewers on Twitch, generating about $1 million in Steam revenue in a single day.

More recently, Peak, a co-op climbing game developed by Aggro Crab, smashed expectations this year, selling millions of copies in just nine days, thanks to its memeable name and viral streams. However, many indie developers have reported the opposite.

Dev calls out “free ride” streamers

Game designer Okuda Kaku shared his frustrations on X, where he explained that streamers can profit from games without giving anything back.

“A famous streamer played the game I made, but despite their stream getting hundreds of thousands of views in just one night, they didn’t include a link to my game in the video’s description, and it didn’t have any positive impact on the game’s sales,” Kaku said. 

“They just got a free ride from my game, make a quick buck, and that’s it. This is what I’ve been experiencing lately, so I really wish something could be done about it. Seriously.”

Kaku’s comments underline a growing tension: while viral streams can catapult some games to success, smaller studios often feel left behind when the spotlight doesn’t translate into real revenue.

Another game dev revealed that more than six million combined views of their game clips only translated into about 5,000 sales, with some videos generating nothing at all when the game wasn’t linked in the description.

Meanwhile, one dev said revealed a “huge” streamer showcased their game to millions, but the spike in attention resulted in just four sales.

Streaming often has the power to make or break a game, but the benefits aren’t always shared equally. Whether the industry finds a way to strike a balance remains to be seen, but for now, devs like Kaku have been keen to voice their growing frustrations.