[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] Twitch, a global game streaming platform, has decided to suspend its service in South Korea, citing the burden of costs such as network usage fees.

As a result, Naver, which has officially entered the game streaming platform market, and Afreeca TV and YouTube, which are strong players in existing live broadcasting platforms, are expected to benefit.

CEO Dan Clancy Twitch said on his official blog on the 5th (local time) that, "We have been trying to find ways to maintain business in South Korea for the past few years, but we decided to shut down its business in Korea as of February 27, 2024, Korean time." The reason for his withdrawal from Korea is the cost burden. "Due to Korea's network fees (network fees), which are 10 times higher than most other countries, we have reached a situation where it is no longer possible to operate," CEO Clancy said.

However, in the telecommunications industry, business failure is the root cause.

An industry official claims that the market share, which is shrinking due to service problems not only in the domestic market but also in the global market, is being excessively linked to cost issues.

Naver and Afreeca TV are expected to benefit from Twitch's termination of domestic services.

With a large number of local streamers expected to move to Afreeca TV and YouTube, another company expected to benefit is Naver. Naver will officially release its game streaming platform 'CHZZK' (tentative name) next year. We also applied for related trademark rights last September.

Naver has conducted the platform's CBT for employees since the 5th and plans to launch an open beta test for game streamers on the 19th. Naver Game Streaming is a full-HD 1080p that will provide user interface (UI), community, and sponsorship functions suitable for game broadcasting.

 

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