Stream Big

The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen

Told through the diverse and fascinating careers of nine streamers, this is a “timely and insightful dive into the players and politics of one of the twenty-first century’s most influential modes of media” (Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine), examining how Twitch has revolutionized technology, entertainment, business, and pop culture.

With 2.5 million viewers at any given moment, the streaming platform Twitch is in the lead and often well beyond mainstream networks like CNN and Fox during primetime. On Twitch, the Amazon-owned tech behemoth, the biggest personalities, like Kai Cenat, Félix “xQc” Lengyel, and Hasan “HasanAbi” Piker, can earn millions per year by firing up their internet connection and going live.

Veteran technology and gaming journalist Nathan Grayson “captures the multitudes contained within Twitch while offering a captivating window into content creators’ lives” (Publishers Weekly), especially those who helped make the platform into a billion-dollar global business. From Twitch’s early days of rapid growth to acquisition by Amazon to the defection of creators and rival platforms, Grayson makes the radical argument that many social technology companies are far more dependent on their creators than the creators are on their platforms.

Told through nine exceptional Twitch creators whose on-screen personalities helped the company grow into a powerhouse, this is the explosive and “necessary” (Mark Bergen, author of Like, Comment, Subscribe) story of when entertainment meets the internet in the era of social and video content domination.

Fascinating looks behind a number of different curtains

The reporting and interviews in Stream Big are very well done and Nathan Grayson wasn't afraid to ask some very hard questions. This was a fascinating look at the making of Twitch and how it has grown through the lenses of popular streamers and the teams surrounding them.