Twitch users who enjoy an uninterrupted viewing experience will need to shell out a little more for ad-free streaming. Twitch’s ad-free Turbo subscription plan is raising its price from $9 to $12 per month in the United States. The price increase applies to Turbo subscriptions globally, with modified pricing specific to each country.
Despite the price hike, Twitch has not announced any feature changes or add-ons to accompany the increased cost. Current Turbo subscribers received email notifications on Thursday regarding the pricing adjustments. However, there is some positive news for long-time users. In certain countries, the monthly price has actually decreased. To take advantage of the lower pricing, existing users will need to cancel their subscription and resubscribe. Additionally, current Turbo subscribers will enjoy a three-month grace period before being required to switch to the new price. New subscribers, however, will not receive this grace period and will immediately be subject to the updated price.
This significant increase comes shortly after Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, appointed a new CEO and implemented workforce reductions that affected around 400 employees. These cost-cutting measures were part of a broader initiative within the parent company. Despite the absence of new features accompanying the price increase, Twitch has assured users that updates are in the pipeline to enhance Turbo and make it more relevant. More details regarding these updates are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The main attraction of Turbo is its promise of an ad-free experience across the entire Twitch platform. In addition to ad removal, Turbo offers smaller perks such as access to more emojis, customizable chat username colors, and increased broadcast storage. The revised pricing model takes effect immediately, starting today.
Twitch users who value an ad-free viewing experience will need to consider the increased cost of the Turbo subscription. While the price hike may come as a disappointment to some, it remains to be seen whether the promised updates and enhancements will justify the higher monthly fee for subscribers.
