- Twitch was hacked and top streamers' earnings and other sensitive information was leaked online
- Over 120GB of data shows what creators have accumulated since 2019, with some of them confirming, others denying the figures
- Twitch responds to the leak and says it has taken all precautionary measures to mitigate further damage
Twitch was hacked early on Wednesday, October 6, revealing huge amounts of sensitive information like previous versions of the site. The most interesting leaked info, however, might be the earnings of the platform’s most popular streamers.
Huge Leak Reveals Top Streamer’s Earnings
Viewers have always wondered how much their favorite content creators are making each month. However, this leak might finally mean the wider populace will finally be able to satisfy their curiosity.
The massive info dump is over 120GB large and includes precise figures for the biggest streamers since September 2019. It has to be noted that the revenue includes only direct revenue from the Amazon-owned company, so it does not include donations or sponsorships, for example.
Like many other instances of hacking, it seems this one too was done by 4chan hackers, as it's there where the leak first surfaced and then quickly spread on the Internet. Here are the top ten earners since 2019:
- Critical Role -$9,626,712.16
- xQc -$8,454,427.17
- Summit1g – $5,847,541.17
- Tfue – $5,295,582.44
- NICKMERCS – $5,096,642.12
- Ludwig – $3,290,777.55
- TimTheTatman – $3,290,133.32
- Altoar – $3,053,839.94
- Auronplay – $3,053,341.54
- Lirik – $2,984,653.70
Streamers, who have responded to the numbers, vary their statements, some saying that the figures are almost spot on, while others denying them. One streamer called BBG Calc told BBC News: “The earnings list got my figure 100% correct.”
However, if we take a look at the streamer’s monthly earnings for September 2021, we might see some disparity. For example, Asmon earned $141,000 in September 2021, which over 24 months total around $3.4 million, which is quite different from the $2.5m he has apparently earned since 2019.
Twitch Responds to the Stream and Evidence
In a blog post Twitch shared the reasons behind the breach. They stated it was caused by “an error in a Twitch server configuration change that was subsequently accessed by a malicious third party.” They added that their teams are diligently working to investigate the incident.
The platform aimed its efforts at confirming that no private data like login details, passwords, and credit card numbers were lost. They have stated that, so far they have no information that credentials have been exposed and since no full credit card numbers are stored by Twitch, no card numbers were leaked.
As well as earnings and account details, another curious thing that surfaced was the codename of an apparent Steam competitor, codenamed Vapor (Steam/Vapor, get it?). Apparently, the platform “Seems to integrate most of Twitch’s features as well as a bunch of game-specific support like Fortnite and PUBG.”
Whatever this new software is, it seems it is in its very early stages so it is not known if it could ever be a potential rival to Steam.
Twitch has stated that no passwords were leaked, however, it is perhaps a good idea to change one's login details just in case.
