Ninja returns to Twitch and this time he's sticking around

If you were wondering where streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins would end up after Microsoft shut down Mixer, wonder no longer. Twitch and Ninja announced today that they two have signed an agreement that will see Ninja commit to the platform for a number of years to come. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but considering just how popular Ninja is, Twitch likely paid a hefty sum to lock him down.

Once upon a time, of course, Ninja was the most popular streamer on Twitch, as he found a massive audience when Fortnite was at the peak of its own popularity. In August of last year, Mixer signed Ninja to a multi-year exclusive contract, but it was less than a year later that Microsoft decided to shut down the service. When that happened, Ninja became what's essentially a free agent, and he definitely took his time in deciding where to stream next.

Though Ninja did livestream on YouTube at one point, it's now confirmed that Twitch is where he'll be streaming for the foreseeable future. "I am excited to get back to streaming full-time and connecting with my loyal fanbase," Ninja said in a statement to Engadget today. "I really took my time to decide which platform was best and Twitch has been supportive throughout this process and understanding my overall career goals. In this next chapter, I'm going to make it a point to elevate and bring more eyes to underrepresented creators. I am looking forward to working with Twitch to demonstrate how this amazing community of gamers can make a meaningful impact."

So, Ninja has wound up back where he started, and he doesn't seem to be any worse off for it either. His first stream back on Twitch kicked off just a little while ago, and as of this writing, he has around 80,000 viewers watching him play Fall Guys.

With this signing, the two big streamers Microsoft signed to exclusive Mixer contracts – Ninja and Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek – are back on Twitch. Don't expect them to make any big moves from here, because Twitch has definitely made sure they aren't going to jump ship for years into the future.