Microsoft to shut Mixer on July 22, move partners and gamers to Facebook Gaming, sell domain names and trademarks to Facebook but retain IP rights to Mixer tech
It's a strategic move for the future of xCloud — Microsoft is closing its Mixer service on July 22nd and plans to move existing partners over to Facebook Gaming.
The shutdown is framed not as a retreat from streaming but as a reallocation — Microsoft explicitly calls it a move for the future of xCloud, keeping Mixer's technology IP while handing the brand, domains, and audience relationship to Facebook.
First-order effects
Mixer partners and viewers have until July 22 to relocate, and Facebook Gaming inherits a pre-vetted partner roster without having built or bought the service behind them.
Microsoft exits consumer live streaming immediately but keeps the Mixer technology IP in-house, where it feeds the xCloud effort rather than a broadcast product.
Second-order effects
Facebook buys distribution cheaply — domains, trademarks, and migrated streamers — while Microsoft pays the severance, reinforcing Twitch's dominance; Mixer's own co-founder would within days publicly frame the closure around Twitch's market power and the case for low-latency streaming.
Every mid-tier streaming platform loses its most credible funded challenger, narrowing creators' realistic options to Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, live streaming consolidates into a few incumbent networks while hardware-and-cloud players like Microsoft compete on infrastructure instead of audiences — though the destination itself proved fragile, as Meta later moved to fold the standalone Facebook Gaming app into the main Facebook app (the 2022 shutdown plan).
The trend: Big-platform game streaming is consolidating: owners are abandoning standalone broadcast services to chase cloud-gaming economics, leaving audience aggregation to a shrinking set of incumbents.
Mixer Partners, streamers, and community - today, we've got some very big news for you. While we've decided to close the operations side of Mixer, we're officially partnering with @FacebookGaming and we're cordially inviting all of you to join. 📰 https://aka.ms/... https://twitte…
No matter where you choose to stream, the world is better with your gaming content in it. As the operations side of @WatchMixer is closing, we are inviting the Mixer Community to #FacebookGaming. More details: https://www.facebook.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Grateful to Mixer Partners and streamers and viewers. Look forward to working with @FacebookGaming to transition and scale the Mixer community and help it thrive and using Project xCloud for future scenarios for watching and playing. https://news.xbox.com/...
The original creator of Mixer @MattSalsamendi tells me he won't be getting a cut of the deal. Microsoft sold Mixer to Facebook, a source told me. https://blog.mixer.com/...
I will be actively trying to help folks over on FB. I know we have strong community leaders on Twitch and YouTube. Regardless of platform. You will all be special. As you've already been 😭
This might seem weird, but the “login with Facebook” button has been one of the most derided things we've ever added to the site. Attempting to migrate Mixer users to Facebook Gaming seems pretty ridiculous to me. The audience hates Facebook. And they... probably should.
To clarify, Mixer is shutting down, the trademarks and domain names are now owned by Facebook, and Microsoft still holds the IP rights to the Mixer technology.
So i'm now realizing a lot of people will have lost vital income in a very turbulent time and will likely have to return to other platforms. That being said, if you are among them.. reply here with your new stream links/descriptions. Check out these creators and support them. htt…
Microsoft is shutting down Mixer and moving its partners to Facebook Gaming Ninja, Shroud, and other major streamers are free to return to Twitch again (via @Xbox) https://twitter.com/...
Partnering with a platform that is known for election scams, encouraging racial topics and not protecting minorities. Awful move Microsoft. https://twitter.com/...
Mixer was always the 4th place game streaming platform compared to Twitch, Youtube and Facebook Gaming, by a wide margin. For that reason, it's not surprising they shut down and partnered with FB Gaming. Unable to scale and reach the same type of audience as other Xbox services. …