On Nov.10, video-streaming platform Twitch announced that they will remove VOD content in South Korea by Dec. 13. 

Twitch has previously seen success in South Korea with growing views. Platform creators included new genres like lifestyle and gaming. However, they have announced two major changes in the Korean server of Twitch: lowering streaming quality to 720p and removing VOD services. 

“I enjoy watching many Twitch live streams, Sean Kyung (10), Twitch viewer, said. “However, with this new limitation, it’s much harder to view live streams as the game quality keeps breaking down and the quality of vision completely drops.”

This was the first time Twitch started using 1080p for streaming. This was detrimental to many streamers, especially because Twitch has many gaming streams. 

As a result, some Twitch streamers even announced their new accounts on separate live-streaming platforms such as YouTube and Afreeca TV. 

The reason for this has been announced to be the server costs the Korean government has been enforcing. Due to the high-cost Twitch has to pay, they began reducing the stream quality. 

In addition to the first limitation, Twitch is limiting VODs in South Korea. This service allowed Twitch users to rewatch saved clips of content creators on the platform.

Twitch will now wholly remove this service by Dec. 18, disabling content-saved videos. As Twict has only made these announcements in South Korea, some critics worry about future limitations to come. 

“This really hurts my experience with Twitch because I often miss these live streams and I have relied on VODs to watch my favorite content creators,” Justin Park (10), active Twitch user, sai