It doesn't take much to rile up the video game community but one such developer has managed to do it with a few mere tweets. In fact, he hasn't just poked the bear, he's prodded it with an electric baton. We're talking about recent comments made by Google Stadia creative director, Alex Hutchinson.
Alex Hutchinson is the creative director for Google Stadia and a former game developer. (Picture: Typhoon Studios)
The developer made a Twitter thread explaining his opinions on the recent DMCA violations on Twitch and also how game developers should be charging streamers a licensing fee to play their game on broadcast.
Google Stadia director gets into hot water with the community
The thread began with Hutchinson commenting on the recent DMCA warnings that many Twitch streamers received, as content creators are being cautioned about playing licensed music while broadcasting. Since they didn't pay for the music, it's a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
While many were concerned over the warnings, Hutchinson felt a little differently. In short, the Stadia director stated that streamers should be concerned about game developers implementing a similar strategy.
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 (@BangBangClick) October 22, 2020
Hutchinson is essentially saying that game developers should be charging streamers to play their game while broadcasting. It's quite outlandish to compare streamers not paying for music and then not paying for the games they play. This does not apply to the initial purchase of the game itself, either. Hutchinson believes that any streamer who wants to play a game live should pay the developing studio a licensing fee.
"They should be buying a license like any real business and paying for the content they use," Hutchinson explained in his Twitter thread.
The community, in short, had a field day in the comment section. High-profile influencers like DrDisrespect even got in on the action.
Creative Director for Google Stadia. https://t.co/2ptIOiKNZT
— #Doctober (@drdisrespect) October 22, 2020
However, perhaps the most amusing response was in regards to how Google Stadia hasn't exactly got off to the best start in 2020.
speaking of things people don't want to pay for, how's Stadia going https://t.co/KpL7iEkn04
— The Daniel Jonestown Massacre (@alex_navarro) October 22, 2020
The majority of the community reacted the way they did for a couple of outlying reasons. The biggest of these is that streamers offer free - most of the time - publicity for the game they're playing. For example, Among Us wouldn't be where it is today without streamers like xQc who pioneered its upstart.
The other reason is that some streamers don't play their games for monetary reasons. Sometimes, friends get together and live stream for their other friends or small community. With Hutchinson's argument, these streamers would have to pay a fee to broadcast the game they're playing for mere enjoyment.
Although Alex Hutchinson didn't back down from his stance, it'll be interesting to see if Google Stadia takes any action against the employee in the coming days.