Twitch Guts Ad-free Viewing For Amazon Prime Members
The Twitch team said that it has "re-evaluated some of the existing Twitch Prime benefits" and has concluded that ad-free viewing will end for Twitch Prime starting on September 14th. Those who subscribe to Amazon Prime on a monthly basis will lose the ad-free benefits on October 15th. So why the change of heart after two years of ad-free bliss for those using Twitch Prime?
Well, it all comes down to ad revenue and making the platform more viable for content creators. "Advertising is an important source of support for the creators who make Twitch possible," writes Twitch. "This change will strengthen and expand that advertising opportunity for creators so they can get more support from their viewers for doing what they love."
While ad-free viewing is getting the boot for Twitch Prime, you'll still have access to free games, exclusive badges and in-game loot (among other things). Plus, you still have access to all the other perks that come with a Prime membership.
If you do want to continue the ad-free viewing experience, you'll now have to pony up for Twitch Turbo, which costs $8.99 per month.
It was also announced today that Prime subscribers would be losing their 20 percent pre-order discount on video games. It is instead being replaced by $10 of in-store credit for future purchases on “select video game” purchases.