Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Superstar streamer Shroud joins Ninja, moves exclusively to Mixer

Gabe Gurwin
By
Team Shroud at TwitchCon Doritos
Kimberly White/Getty Images

Twitch is still the biggest name in video game streaming, but it just lost another one of its biggest stars. Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek announced that he will be moving exclusively to Microsoft’s Mixer platform, giving it another major reason for viewers to tune in.

In a Twitter video, Shroud announced that he’s “making moves” before his computer monitor displays the Mixer logo. It is a much lower-key video announcement than the one by Ninja, which featured a pseudo-press-conference with Ninja also playing several members of the audience.

Related Videos

Same shroud. New home.https://t.co/eZV2GBBSsY pic.twitter.com/AHaajkjees

— Michael Grzesiek (@shroud) October 24, 2019

The news comes just two days after Shroud’s previous livestream on Twitch. Less than a week ago, he was also still using his Twitch channel to promote a new look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but fans will have to ditch Twitch for Mixer in order to view any of his streamed content from now on.

The deal appears to only be for live content, as Shroud posted a YouTube video of his gameplay at the same time as his announcement went live. He typically uploads several of them each week, showing highlights in videos around 15 to 20 minutes in length.

Shroud is known for his time as a professional Counter-Strike: GO player, but he also plays a variety of other games on his channel. Most of them are shooters, including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and the Call of Duty series. He’ll presumably be focusing on Modern Warfare in the near future.

Microsoft has continuously tried to position Mixer as a more user-friend alternative to Twitch, with better quality options, interactivity with viewers, and even the potential to win prizes. During press events such as E3, Microsoft will award special “MixPots, to those who signed in to Mixer using the Microsoft account they also use for Xbox Live. Free games and other digital goodies have been awarded, including Rare Replay and Outer Wilds.

Mixer will only have an easier time getting viewers to tune in if it continues to snatch up exclusivity rights for big names like Ninja and Shroud. Where it may have more of an issue is with esports competitions, which have almost always favored Twitch over rival services.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Xbox and Bethesda’s Developer_Direct is their most important showcase ever
A screen capture from the Redfall gameplay reveal.

Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda just announced that their first-ever Developer_Direct showcase will be held January 25, giving Microsoft footing in the game showcase space outside of events like E3 and Gamescom. After a rough year for Xbox first-party studios, this Developer_Direct will finally give us another very deep look at games like Redfall, Forza Motorsport, and Minecraft Legends, whichwill start to form its game lineup for this year, whetting our appetites for what's to come to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Game Pass in 2023. Although the seeming lack of any brand new first-party announcement might make this Developer_Direct not feel that exciting to the average player, this is a critical showcase for Microsoft if it wants to win jaded fans back.
So far this console generation, Microsoft has been inconsistent in terms of both content and transparency about the state of its games. We've gotten a couple of exhilarating bursts of info on new upcoming exclusives at the past couple of Xbox summer showcases, and fall 2021 had a solid lineup of releases in Deathloop, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite. But these flurries of excitement are overshadowed by large droughts in terms of releases and reports that cast doubt over the state of some first-party games' development. That's why Developer_Direct will be so crucial for Microsoft. This show will allow it to refocus players on a (hopefully) more consistent release lineup and start to give fans a consistent showcase cadence to be excited for. 

The content factor
Digital Trends has done plenty of writing highlighting how 2022 was a very weak year for Microsoft. The delay of Redfall and Starfield in 2022 really ruined that year, even though Pentiment and As Dusk Falls were good games. For more mainstream gaming fans, though, Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda's 2023 looks way more exciting. Games like Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and Starfield have 2023 release windows, while long-announced games like Senua's Sacrifice: Hellblade II, Contraband, and Avowed seem like they've been in development long enough to not be too far off. However, Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda haven't shown us how this year will be paced out in terms of releases, and players were not pleased with Microsoft's lackluster presence at The Game Awards 2022
That's the first major task of Developer_Direct. While no release dates were technically promised in its announcement, this show is a prime spot to let Xbox fans know precisely when they can get their hands on these long-awaited first-party titles. One of the most exciting parts of a Nintendo Direct is consistently seeing Nintendo's lineup for the next few months take form in real time, giving fans a bunch of neat titles to experience before the next inevitable showcase. Xbox is sorely in need of something like that, and Developer_Direct provides the perfect opportunity to do so, mainly because it seems to be focused less on the number of announcements and more on delivering info about games people are already interested in. 

Read more
Your Xbox is becoming carbon aware with new update
Official Xbox art promoting energy saving, carbon awareness, and collective action.

While many fans are waiting for Xbox to reveal the release dates of Redfall and Starfield, or to even hold another game showcase of its own, Microsoft's first significant Xbox-related announcement of the year is about something else entirely. Xbox Insiders will have access to multiple new options to make their Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S more carbon-aware starting today.
To start, the "Shutdown (energy-saving)" power option will be updated to reduce its power consumption even further while still supporting overnight updates; in fact, your Xbox console will now optimize those updates by doing them "when the console can use the most renewable energy in your local energy grid." According to Microsoft, for every two consoles that are in this mode for 20 hours a day for a whole year, the carbon equivalent of a tree that has been growing for over a decade will be saved.

That isn't the only energy-conscious addition in this update, though. A new "Active Hours" setting is coming, which will allow those who choose the "Sleep" power option to boot quickly and support remote waking during set active hours, rather than it always being available. Surprisingly, even Xbox One owners will see a carbon-aware update with the addition of the "Shutdown (energy saving)" power option today, although Microsoft is still in the user feedback stage for that platform.
These carbon-aware updates are available to Xbox Insiders with an Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S starting today, although Microsoft says these additions will come to all current-gen console owners "soon." 

Read more
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is the first great game of 2023
Moonrider approaches the first boss in Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider.

Are you looking for that first great game of the year to play before 2023's AAA heavy hitters arrive? Check out Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider - Release Date Reveal Trailer
That title is a mouthful, but this is a straightforward 16-bit action-platformer inspired by classic series like Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and Mega Man. It hits all the proper retro gaming notes, like being easy to pick up but tough to master gameplay and having a delightful 16-bit visual style.
The teams behind 2019's fantastic Contra-like Blazing Chrome -- Brazilian developer JoyMasher and Dotemu's indie publishing label The Arcade Crew -- reunited for the project, cementing themselves as some of the best retro throwback studios out there. If you're wondering if there are any great 2023 games to play ahead of highly anticipated games like Forspoken, then you won't want to ignore Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider.
Thoughtful throwback
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider nails its 16-bit setup right out of the gate. Its opening cutscene sets the stage for the dire, totalitarian world where the game takes place. Within moments of the start of the first level, the titular Moonrider defies his initial programming as a guardian of the totalitarian state and goes on a vengeful rampage to kill other super soldiers, bring down the current regime, and give people the freedom to make decisions for themselves.
Its story elements in surprisingly cinematic 16-bit cutscenes provide a compelling narrative backdrop for the adventure, much like the stories of the original Ninja Gaiden games did. That said, most of the Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider knows it can take a step back and let the game's beautiful visuals and gameplay sing.
We've seen plenty of highly detailed 16-bit indie games at this point, but Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider's pixels do a particularly great job at eliciting the beautiful chunkiness of Sega Genesis platformers with detailed graphics like Shinobi while still having a satisfying sci-fi edge.

Shinobi is also an evident influence in that the player character is quite large on the screen and that JoyMasher put a lot of effort into attack animation. Even when enemies are defeated, there's an impressive amount of detail as you see them sliced in pieces and falling apart, not just flicking away and disappearing in an explosion of pixels. And those who want the game to look even more retro can turn on its CRT filter, which looks excellent but does lower the typically smoother 60 frames-per-second frame rate.
Because retro throwback games are so common, new ones need to go above and beyond with their presentation to stand out. Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider does so, just as Blazing Chrome successfully did. In terms of gameplay, it also feels like JoyMasher and The Arcade Crew pulled it right out of the 16-bit era, with a couple of refinements.
A 16-bit classic boiling pot
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider's combat and platforming also call back to Shinobi. Despite the main character's size, platforming is a significant element of the game, and players have many options in the air as they can wall jump, dive kick, and more. Meanwhile, its nonlinear level structure that lets players choose which boss they want to fight to get a special weapon is very reminiscent of Mega Man games.

Read more