Microsoft's Mixer App Downloads Double After Popular Streamer Ninja Jumps Ship from Twitch

Yesterday's news that Microsoft had managed to lure popular streamer Ninja away from his longtime home on Twitch to its rival streaming platform Mixer is already showing a profound impact on its user growth. According to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates, the service's mobile app saw its first-time downloads double on the news, with them expected to rise significantly more as it tops the U.S. App Store's free chart.

Mixer is currently the No. 1 ranked non-game app on Apple's platform, having hovered around No. 750 prior to the news.

Our data shows the pronounced spike following Ninja's announcement resulted in new installs of the app growing 100 percent week-over-week to an estimated 26,000 yesterday across both the App Store and Google Play, up from 13,000 on Thursday, Jul. 26. At its current ranking, we expect the app to add at least 100,000 first-time users today on the U.S. App Store alone. This would represent a 2,400 percent increase from the 4,000 it added one week ago on Friday, Jul. 27, or 25 times more users.

This is likely just the first salvo of many to come in the escalating battle between gameplay streaming platforms. While Ninja is one of the most well-known and followed figures in the space, he will undoubtedly not be the last to switch sides now that Microsoft has proven the tactic can drive such meaningful user growth.