Former Assassin's Creed III Creative Director: streamers should pay devs for games they stream

Streamers should pay a percentage of their revenue to the developers and publishers of the games they stream, according to Alex Hutchinson, the Montreal Studio Creative Director of Stadia Games and Entertainment. His words generated thousands of angry comments, and Google representatives quickly distanced the company from the controversial statements.

What happened?

Yesterday, Hutchinson responded to the news of thousands of Twitch videos being removed for containing copyrighted music. The developer said that streamers also violate the rights of game creators.

Streamers worried about getting their content pulled because they used music they didn’t pay for should be more worried by the fact that they’re streaming games they didn’t pay for as well. It’s all gone as soon as publishers decide to enforce it.

Alex Hutchinson

Creative Director, Stadia Games and Entertainment

“Streamers should be paying the developers and publishers of the games they stream. They should be buying a license like any real business and paying for the content they use,” added Hutchinson, who also previously served as Creative Director for Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 4.

Reaction from users

The number of comments to one of his tweets is nearing 17 thousand, most of them angry. Many users noted that streamers actually help content creators popularize and promote games.

Hutchinson was taken by surprise by all the negativity. “Amazing to me that people are upset at someone saying that the creators of content should be allowed to make some of the money from other people using their content for profit,” he wrote.

Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier replied to this message saying: “Idk maybe you’re getting flak because you’re picking this particular battle in a world where C-suite executives make $30m/year and devs don’t get royalties so they’d never see any of that streaming money in the first place”

Statementsfrom Google and YouTube

Soon after the controvercy escalated, 9to5Google requested a comment from Google, which owns Typhoon Studios that Hutchinson founded. The spokesmperson said the tweets “The recent tweets by Alex Hutchinson, creative director at the Montreal Studio of Stadia Games and Entertainment, do not reflect those of Stadia, YouTube or Google.”

Ryan Wyatt, head of gaming at YouTube, has also chimed in: “We believe that Publishers and Creators have a wonderful symbiotic relationship that has allowed a thriving ecosystem to be created. One that has mutually benefited everyone! YT is focused on creating value for Creators, Publishers, & Users. All ships rise when we work together.”