Twitch just cracked down on one of streaming’s worst-kept secrets: view bots. As a result, some of the platform’s biggest names, including XQC, Asmongold, and Mizkif, have seen their view counts drop sharply. The reason? Those inflated numbers weren’t entirely real to begin with.
View bot crackdown hits Twitch streamers hard
In late July, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirmed the company had updated its backend systems to better detect and block view bots. These bots often simulate real viewers by playing streams in headless browsers or using fake accounts to manipulate metrics.
Now that the system’s live, the effect is visible. Several high-profile streamers are suddenly seeing numbers far lower than usual some by thousands of viewers.
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Why bots matter to Twitch stats
Many streamers across Twitch, Kick, and even YouTube have relied on bot services to stay afloat in the rankings. A higher position means more visibility, and with visibility comes sponsorships. Brands don’t usually vet those numbers too deeply. If a channel looks popular, it’s likely to get more deals, simple as that.
That’s what made view botting so tempting. It wasn’t just about vanity; it was a business strategy.
Top names take a hit
Asmongold’s alternate channel, Zackrawrr, along with XQC and Mizkif, have all experienced noticeable viewership drops. These weren’t isolated cases, either. Plenty of followers noticed big names streaming less or skipping broadcasts entirely in the past week.
This drop coincided directly with Twitch’s bot purge.
Twitch finally responds to long-standing complaints
For years, both viewers and smaller creators accused the platform of ignoring bot abuse. While using view bots violates Twitch’s Terms of Service, the lack of enforcement made it easy to abuse without consequences until now.
According to Clancy, Twitch modified parts of its codebase to better track suspicious viewing patterns and neutralize them. The result? A more accurate picture of who’s actually watching and who’s not.
Will the numbers bounce back?
Bot services are already trying to adapt, but Twitch seems committed to staying ahead. Whether the cleaned-up numbers stick or gradually climb again remains to be seen. What’s clear is that the illusion of unstoppable popularity just took a serious hit, and not every streamer is ready to go live without it.
