Twitch has announced that the price for Tier 1 subscriptions will rise on its mobile apps as of October 1. According to an email sent to subscribers, the price of a Tier 1 subscription for both the Twitch iOS and Android apps will be $7.99 monthly, which represents an increase from $5.99.
The price hike will affect more than 40 countries, including the United States. This price increase is applicable only to Tier 1 subscriptions purchased through its mobile apps; all other subscriptions remain unaffected by the change. Tier 2 and Tier 3 subscriptions will still be priced at their current levels, as will the subscriptions made through the desktop website.
📱 Starting October 1, we’re increasing new Tier 1 sub and gift sub prices on the mobile app in over 40 countries.
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) August 21, 2024
🔴 You can bring your questions to Patch Notes today, August 21 at 12pm PT.
📬 We are notifying streamers and subscribers in these countries via email.
It"s not the first time subscription prices have gone up at Twitch. Back in July, it increased the price of Tier 1 subscriptions on the desktop site from $4.99 to $5.99 per month. This new mobile increase, though, means that subscribing from an app will again be pricier than doing so on desktop.
Still a platform yet to turn a profit since being bought by Amazon in 2014, Twitch explained that the mobile increase will let them offset the fees taken by Apple and Google for in-app purchases via their respective app stores. Their reasons, however, did not augur well with some users on social media.
It remains to be seen whether these higher subscription prices—matching those on desktop—will be the final pieces of the puzzle that bring Twitch to the status of profitability. The service still heavily relies on games and dedication from both streamers and viewers.