Twitch Sings, the popular free-to-play karaoke game developed by Twitch and Harmonix, announced its closure today. It was first announced at TwitchCon 2018 and later released in April 2019. Created with the intent of increasing audience engagement, it’s only natural Twitch would choose the creators of Rock Band, Singspace, and Dropmix to co-develop the game with them. The game’s excellent streaming integration helped cement its strong viewer interactivity tools – players could create their own avatars that would be displayed if they donated, vote on songs for the host to perform, or even participate in duets with streamers. Despite the game’s success and respectable userbase, however, Twitch has decided to pull the plug.
“This community has inspired us with their talent and passion, and we thank you all for what you’ve given to Twitch Sings over the years,” writes the company in a blog post. “We are grateful for all the streamers and singers who contributed to the Sings community, making it one of the most inspiring groups within Twitch. Today, we are releasing our entire backlog of over 400 new songs and hope you continue to enjoy Twitch Sings for the next few months.”
It’s not just Sings itself getting taken down, though – according to Twitch, starting December 1 they’ll be “removing Sings videos and clips per our contractual obligations”. Twitch’s decision to close Sings and remove all related content in order to “invest in broader tools and music services” could be due in part to the company’s recent issues with DMCA – back in June the site faced a massive influx of takedowns due to licensing issues with background music used in many videos. Whether due to legal concerns or not, one thing still remains a fact – the shuttering of Twitch Sings leaves a big hole for music content creators that Twitch will need to be able to fill.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to share more about the future of music on Twitch and how we’re working to make Twitch the best place to bring you closer to the artists and music you love,” the company concluded.