Anger as BIPOC streamers excluded from high profile Final Fantasy XIV Twitch collaboration
Final Fantasy XIV developers Square Enix are collaborating with Twitch streamers to offer in-game rewards, but have been criticised for a lack of diversity.
From 24 June until 24 August, players will receive new content in the game when they subscribe to specific Twitch channels – or offer gift subscriptions.
One subscription will be rewarded with 100 Deluxe Heavenscrackers, a seasonal item used in celebration. Four subscriptions will be rewarded with a whistle to summon the Fat Black Chocobo mount to ride.
Square Enix has selected a specific list of Final Fantasy XIV streamers participating in the campaign, including English, French, German, Spanish and Finnish speaking streamers.
The English speaking list does have some diversity in terms of country location, gender and queer representation, including LGBT+ streamers like MiaByte, Hupo and Spofie.
However, there is a distinct lack of BIPOC streamers in the list, something the campaign has been criticised for.
“I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of these creators but we are definitely missing some BIPOC here,” said RedySetBen, a popular Black streamer who regularly plays Final Fantasy XIV.
I mean absolutely no disrespect to any of these creators but we are definitely missing some BIPOC here.
Sheesh.https://t.co/V2bdY25p1b
— Benjamin ?️?- (He/Him) (@ReadySetBen) June 24, 2021
MiaByte, one of the participating streamers, also shared her disappointment, asking Square Enix to amend the list with more diversity. Spofie, another participating streamer, also shared her frustration.
So this FF14 Twitch Collab. Add BIPOC creators please SE. I had no idea at the lack of diversity being featured. That needs to be fixed.— Miabyte ミアバイト ✨?️?✨?️?✨?️?✨?️?✨ (@themiabyte) June 25, 2021
Boosting this.
There are so many very active BIPOC streamers who easily could have been included.
While I’m grateful to be included, this is frustrating. https://t.co/VffVAg0dHl— Spofie?️?ENVTuber (@spofiee) June 24, 2021
Other players have since weighed in. Tweets listing potential BIPOC streamer collaborators sprung up, but as Glenn Ángel notes, “let’s see how many of y’all liking these List Tweets aren’t just doing it for pity or ally points”.
Whether or not SE does something about the lack of diversity, who’s to say.
But let’s see how many of y’all liking these List Tweets aren’t just doing it for pity or ✨ally points✨ because us BIPOC creators will see who actually comes around to support. And we will talk.— Glenn Ángel ?? él/ella (@HelloGlennAngel) June 24, 2021
I appreciate this event bringing ffxiv and its community to the spotlight, but we need diversity- it's what makes our community special and is why I fell in love with the game.
I'm hopeful this is the start of things to come. keep shining WoLs, I know we'll all get our chance ?
— Tommy (@tmyster_tv) June 24, 2021
Square Enix has also been criticised for working only with established Final Fantasy XIV streamers. While this is understandable to an extent to work with known collaborators, this campaign could have been an opportunity to work with and uplift smaller streamers who would benefit from the increase in subscriptions.
I legit thought this was going to be a community-focused event where by purchasing gift subs or other basic Twitch functions you can earn rewards for your kindness.
But no, it's hyper-focused on already-popular streamers so they can get even more viewership/sponsor money.
LMFAO— Sean Chiplock (@sonicmega) June 24, 2021
I'm not liking this tweet. This is a horrendous collab. Can't support the community in a meaningful way, just direct eyes to a tiny set of streamers / communities and ignoring the rest of FFXIV streamers and communities. This looks like a money grab from Twitch's side.— angerthosenear (@angerthosenear) June 24, 2021
I understand the whole point of business/collabs is for both brands to get seen more, so typically you'd work with people with established, large audiences, but real missed opportunity here to put the focus on small streamers, especially for such a community-based game.— Moderately Okay @ FFXIV (@ModeratelyOkCos) June 24, 2021
Twitch also notified the community on Twitter that there was an issue with viewers receiving voucher codes for the rewarded items, though this has now been resolved.
? The issue preventing some eligible users from receiving their voucher codes for in-game items is now resolved.
Those who previously did not get their notifications will receive them within 24 hours ?— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) June 25, 2021
For a full list of streamers and FAQ on how to participate, visit The Lodestone.
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