Alex Hutchinson, Typhoon Studios co-founder and Google Stadia developer, has suggested via Twitter that video game streamers should pay developers for the rights to stream their games.
Hutchinson’s tweet seems to be a response to Twitch’s controversial handling of DMCA takedowns which have impacted their streaming partners’ ability to play licensed music and other licensed audio content on their streams. The confusing nature of that policy has concerned many streamers who not only are resorting to deleting all of their old content but are left with unanswered questions regarding the extent of Twitch’s policies and what they’re supposed to do moving forward.
Now, Hutchinson seems to be arguing that similar takedowns could one day extend to video games themselves. While the wording of his first tweet almost suggests that he’s talking about a hypothetical scenario in which developers use publishing rights to control streaming content (which is a problem that some YouTubers say they’ve encountered in the past), his follow-up certainly hints that he believes such takedowns and copyright restrictions would be justified.
There are a couple of things we should point out at this time. First off, some are already arguing that Hutchinson is just “trolling” people. However, the nature of some of his replies regarding this subject certainly supports the theory that he’s being sincere.
We should absolutely also point out that this is hardly the first time that Alex Hutchinson has attracted controversy over his views of the video game industry. In 2012, he gave an interview in which he suggested that “there’s a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists’ side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do.” He went on to say “just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish” and that he’d “take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time.”
As you may imagine, the idea that people who have already bought a game should somehow give studios a portion of whatever proceeds they receive for streaming the game has attracted the ire of many fans, streamers, and industry figures who vehemently disagree.
While we’re on the subject of Google Stadia, we should point out that while Hutchinson describes himself on Twitter and elsewhere as Google Stadia’s creative director, it actually seems that he’s more accurately listed as a co-founder of Typhoon Studio which Stadia acquired last year. Whether or not he’s officially involved with the creative direction of Stadia as a platform remains unclear.
In any case, a glance at the replies to Hutchinson’s suggestion reveals that there do not seem to be many people who agree with his position on this matter. That’s hardly a surprise given the popularity of streaming events such as U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar playing Among Us as well as the list of games that have benefited from streaming exposure which includes Fall Guys, Among Us, and Phasmophobia in 2020 alone.