Twitch Affiliate requirements: The ultimate guide

Twitch has long been a source of inspiration for those who are passionate about playing video games and chatting with like-minded people. The streaming platform allows broadcasters to take part in things they really love and build a strong community of gamers — all while earning money. It can add some pocket change to your monthly salary, or you can even make enough to pay your bills. 

The Twitch Affiliate program makes it possible for regular broadcasters to earn a living by doing what they love — streaming. It’s available worldwide and allows streamers to: 

• Collect income from subscriptions. Affiliates get recurring revenue from viewers who pay for a monthly subscription to their channel. They can also let viewers use subscriber emotes, which are special badges that users can put in the live chat during the stream. 
• Make money by enabling Bits. On Twitch, Bits are goods the viewers can purchase and use in chat to encourage the streamer. 
• Earn commission on game sales. When playing a game that is available for purchase, Affiliates can receive a commission if viewers purchase the game through their channel.
• Generate revenue from ad sales. Affiliates can play ads on their streams and receive a portion of the sales. 

Quote: “The Twitch Affiliate Program puts qualified streamers one step closer toward the dream of making a living from their passions.” — Twitch

Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? But before you can start earning money on Twitch, you have to meet the Twitch Affiliate requirements.

How to become a Twitch Affiliate

The basic Twitch Affiliate requirements are:

• Reach 50 followers
• Stream for 8 hours
• Stream on 7 different days
• Reach an average of 3 viewers

You can track your progress for each of these requirements by going to the Achievements section of your Twitch Creator Dashboard. You have to meet all four requirements to join the Affiliate program. Once you’re eligible, Twitch will send you an invite to the program.

How exactly do you achieve these requirements? Here’s some advice from current Twitch Affiliates:

• To get your first 50 followers on the streaming platform, keep playing the games you like. Communicate with people who are involved in the same community on different social networks, be it X (Twitter), YouTube or TikTok. Make sure you use a single brand name across all communication channels so users can easily find and follow you. 
• To reach a minimum of eight total hours in seven unique broadcasts, spend at least two hours streaming each time you go live.  
• To gain three or more simultaneous views in a 30-day period, consider inviting your friends and family members to follow you and watch the streams. Keep the viewers engaged by interacting with them. Ask leading questions, such as what video games they like, what music they listen to, what books they read, etc.

After you’re invited to join the Affiliate program on Twitch, you’ll need to complete four steps before you’re approved and can start earning money:

1. Payout registration: You have to provide your contact information for tax purposes.
2. Monetized Streamer Agreement: You have to sign the agreement or, if you’re under 18, have a parent or legal guardian sign it for you.
3. Tax interviews: You must fill out a tax form for royalty tax, and one for service tax. If you live outside the U.S., you may have to fill out additional tax forms.
4. Payout method: You can choose how you want to receive payments from Twitch (direct deposit, wire transfer, PayPal, etc.)

With all the steps completed, you can finally call yourself an Affiliate. 

What’s next? You can either:

• Continue to play your favorite games and earn some pocket money as an Affiliate, or
• Try harder to meet the Twitch Partner requirements and get ready to level up. 

How to become a Twitch Partner

Compared to the Affiliate program, the Twitch Partner program has much higher standards and requires more effort to participate. The first thing you have to do is complete the Path to Partner achievement, which includes: 

• Stream for 25 hours
• Stream on 12 different days
• Average 75 viewers

You must meet the above criteria in a 30-day period.

Once you get the Path to Partner achievement, you then have to broadcast eight individual streams with an average of 75 viewers in a 30-day period. You have to meet this requirement for the two consecutive months prior to your Partner application.

You also must ensure your content conforms to the Twitch Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and DMCA Guidelines.

When aiming for Partnership status with Twitch, keep these factors in mind:

• Content. Twitch welcomes everyone who creates high-quality content — be it games, music, art, or talk shows — and gathers the large community around the channel. 
• Simultaneous views. The higher the viewing level of your channel, the more likely you are to receive an invitation to become a partner. Twitch calls attention to how you interact with your followers on different social networks as well. 
• Stream frequency. Streamers who want to participate in the partnership are expected to go live on a regular basis. 

Twitch Partner Plus program

In October 2023, Twitch launched its Partner Plus program. This program allows you to keep 70% of subscription revenue, rather than the 50% offered to Affiliates and Partners. However, the 70% share only applies to the first $100,000 you earn in one year. After you pass that threshold, you get 50% again until the following year when the threshold resets.

Twitch Partner Plus requirements

In addition to being a Twitch Partner, you must also maintain 350 or more Partner Plus points for three consecutive months. You accumulate these points from paid Tier 1/2/3 subscriptions. Each month, your points total resets to 0. You get points for all recurring and new subscriptions each month. Points allotted to each Tier are:

• 1 point for Tier 1
• 2 points for Tier 2
• 6 points for Tier 3

If you have 350 points by the end of the month, you’ve hit the required Partner Plus points. Once you’re enrolled in the Partner Plus program, you remain in the program for 12 months minimum — you stay enrolled longer if you continue to get 350 Partner Plus points for consecutive months.

What to do if your Twitch Partner application is denied

So, you’ve started the process and asked Twitch to consider your application for Partnership, but you’ve been denied. Don’t lose heart. Instead, use it as an opportunity to develop your channel. Here’s what you can do to improve your Twitch Partner application for the next time:

1. Improve your skills. After the rejection, ask Twitch how you can make your broadcast better. Follow Twitch Creator Camp to hone your skills.
2. Improve your broadcasting quality. Feel free to leverage tools that will make your life easier and help you improve the stream quality, including overlays and graphics. You may also want to apply elements that will let you connect to your viewers and entertain them.
3. Learn from other streamers. Watch how they interact with the audience during the broadcast, how their overlay and panel below the stream look, and what they do on their other social channels. The more you watch other experienced broadcasters, the faster you can create your own style and become qualified for a partnership.

Using Restream to simulcast on Twitch

For many years, Twitch prevented Affiliates and Partners from simulcasting — streaming their content to Twitch and other platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Twitch even extended the ban to all streamers at one point. But in October 2023, Twitch announced that simulcasting would now be allowed for all streamers, except those with exclusive contracts with Twitch.

One of the easiest ways to multistream to Twitch and other platforms is with Restream. You can either use Restream’s live streaming software Restream Studio, or you can connect Restream with another encoding software, such as OBS. All you need is a Restream account. Connect Twitch and Restream, and then add your other favorite streaming platforms. Restream supports more than 30 streaming services. If you’re using OBS, you can set “Restream.io” as your streaming destination in your settings and your broadcast will go live on your selected platforms.

You can also take advantage of Restream’s other features, such as:

• Multichat: Combine the live chats from each platform in one window to make them easier to manage — but only display messages from Twitch on-stream. Restream chat has a Twitch-only chat embed you can use to make sure you’re following the simulcasting rules.
• Analytics: Get powerful insights about your streams such as average viewers and top chatters. Restream can aggregate the data across streaming platforms as well.
• Upload & Stream: Schedule a pre-recorded video to go live on Twitch as a Premiere, and broadcast it on other platforms too.

FAQs

Let's wrap it up!

Twitch, as the world’s leading live streaming platform with millions of active users, allows broadcasters to not only go live and chat with like-minded people, but it also provides an easier way to make a living for content creators. The Twitch Affiliate program rewards anyone who regularly goes on air and has ongoing interactions with their viewers. 

If you want to make your time on Twitch more profitable, Affiliate status is a great interim stage. As an Affiliate, you have an opportunity to improve your skills, build a large community around your Twitch channel and other social media websites, and get one step closer to making a career as a professional streamer. You can also choose a multistreaming service like Restream to help you increase your cross-platform engagement and contribute to your growth.