Twitch, the leading live streaming platform primarily known for its gaming content, has announced a significant policy change regarding archived video content, sparking outrage and concern among its user base, particularly within the speedrunning community. Effective April 19, 2025, Twitch will implement a 100-hour storage limit on saved video Highlights and Uploads, a move the company justifies as a necessary measure to manage resources and invest in future development.
The announcement has been met with widespread criticism, as it effectively undermines the platform’s role in preserving online history and creating a readily accessible archive of user-generated content. The implications of this decision extend far beyond mere inconvenience, potentially resulting in the irreversible loss of valuable historical records, community milestones, and unique creative expressions.
According to Twitch, the storage of archived content is costly, and reducing the amount of stored Highlights and Uploads will allow them to allocate resources more efficiently. While the company claims that only a small percentage of creators, approximately 0.5%, exceed the 100-hour limit, this translates to a potentially massive amount of content—millions of hours—that will be subject to deletion.
The new policy dictates that any account exceeding the storage limit will be required to manually remove Highlights and Uploads, including unpublished content, to comply with the 100-hour restriction. Failure to do so will result in Twitch automatically purging content, prioritizing the deletion of videos with the fewest views. This approach, while seemingly pragmatic from a logistical standpoint, raises concerns about the platform’s understanding of the value and significance of archived content. Content that may not have garnered large viewership numbers could still hold immense importance for niche communities, historical documentation, or personal reflection.
Highlights, originally introduced as a feature to allow creators to curate their best moments and drive engagement, have evolved into a vital tool for archiving and preserving important events and achievements, especially within the speedrunning community. The Verge highlighted the speedrunning community’s reliance on Highlights to document and preserve record-breaking runs, which are now threatened by the impending storage limit.
SummoningSalt, a prominent YouTuber known for creating documentaries on speedrunning history, expressed his disappointment on Bluesky, calling the decision "a really sad day for speedrunning." MrJimmysteel25, another speedrunner, echoed this sentiment on Twitter, emphasizing that Highlights serve a crucial function beyond driving engagement: preserving history. He stated that the community utilizes Highlights to archive valuable content, and Twitch’s decision risks destroying years of speedrunning and other community histories.
The ability to download and save personal Highlights provides a potential workaround for some users, but it introduces the challenge of local storage management. Many creators may lack the necessary resources or technical expertise to effectively manage large amounts of video data. Furthermore, the reliance on individual users to preserve their own content shifts the responsibility away from the platform, which has historically served as a central repository for this information.
The driving force behind this policy change—cost savings—raises further concerns about the platform’s long-term commitment to preserving user-generated content. If Twitch deems it necessary to impose such limitations now to improve its bottom line, it leaves open the possibility of future restrictions or content purges should the need for cost-cutting arise again. This uncertainty undermines the trust that creators place in the platform to safeguard their work and the historical record of their communities.
The fact that Twitch is owned by Amazon, a corporation that operates the world’s largest cloud storage platform, adds a layer of irony and frustration to the situation. Amazon’s vast resources and expertise in data storage make Twitch’s claims of cost constraints seem less convincing. This decision ultimately serves as a stark reminder that when entrusting historical preservation to a corporation, the extent to which content is preserved is ultimately determined by its potential for monetization.
The implications of Twitch’s new storage policy extend beyond the speedrunning community, affecting a wide range of creators and viewers who rely on the platform to archive and share their content. From gaming tutorials and live performances to community events and personal vlogs, Twitch has become a repository for a diverse array of online content. The loss of this content would represent a significant blow to the platform’s cultural significance and its ability to serve as a historical archive for online communities.
Ultimately, the decision to limit storage of Highlights and Uploads represents a short-sighted approach that prioritizes cost savings over the long-term value of preserving online history and fostering a vibrant creative community. The backlash from creators and viewers underscores the importance of recognizing the broader cultural significance of online content and finding sustainable solutions that balance cost management with the preservation of valuable historical records. Twitch’s action serves as a warning about the fragility of digital archives and the need for alternative solutions to ensure the preservation of online content for future generations. The internet might seem forever, but the choices of corporations wielding immense power highlight how quickly that perception can shatter.
