Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that One of the most prolific sources of video game news on Twitter, has announced he’s leaving the platform.
For several years ‘Nibel’ has been one of the most popular sources for game news on social media, with over 400,000 followers including the industry’s biggest game companies and personalities.
In recent months Nibel launched a Patreon to help fund his Twitter posting, citing issues with his professional life. Despite backing from some of the industry’s most recognisable figures, such as The Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley, Nibel said on Monday he had not raised enough to make running the account sustainable.
At the time of publishing Nibel’s Twitter account has been locked and a message on his Patreon claims paying users will be refunded where possible.
“Today, I will move on from both Twitter and Patreon. There won’t be any games coverage from me on either platform,” Nibel wrote in a Patreon update.
“I’ve learned a lot in a short period of time. Unfortunately, I was not able to create an interesting and sustainable Patreon which is evident in the number of Patrons stagnating during the first weekend and the first (of many) pledges being deleted during the first week.
“I have miscalculated the value of my Twitter activity and realize that it is nothing worth supporting by itself for the vast majority of people. It is not me who is popular, but it is that work that is useful. It is not valuable by itself, but a comfortable timesaver, and I get that now.
“I was unable to create a reliable revenue stream, but l’m still happy I gave it a shot. And I want to thank everybody on here who gave me a shot as well. I’ll look into refunds for recent payments, have already deactivated the billing and will likely close this page this week.”
The anonymous user also referenced this week’s takeover of Twitter by billionaire Elon Musk as a contributing factor behind his decision to leave the platform.
Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has claimed its first casualty within my gaming-based circle. Citing in part Musk’s actions since he took power, prolific video game news source Nibel (@Nibellion) has announced they are leaving Twitter and locking their account. With 447,000 followers, that’s more than any individual games journalist I know and more than some entire outlets.
Nibel was a constant poster, raking the industry for up to the minute news. Often when I first heard about a breaking story, it would be from him directly. He mostly reported plain facts, occasionally with his own takes, and recently launched a Patreon to try to bolster financial support for the time spent with his coverage.
But Nibel also cited the Musk takeover as contributing to his departure, and he’s voiced open skepticism about Musk’s ability to lead Twitter in the past:
“Then there is the elephant in the room which is the platform itself. I don’t think that Twitter has yet experienced good leadership, and this trend will not change with Musk either. I do not trust the platform. I do not trust Musk and his seemingly infinite immaturity. I do not think Twitter will fall apart instantly but that it could die a slow death. Why waste more time?”
Last night, news broke about one of Elon’s first Twitter projects, where he is going to allegedly start charging $20 a month for verification badges, and those who currently have them but don’t pay will see them removed eventually. This spawned a host of mockery about how bad an idea it seemed to be on its face, but also real concerns about impersonation and spam if anyone will be able to buy their way into a verified checkmark, which will completely alter the meaning of the indicator.
As for Nibel, he says he will no longer provide any video game coverage on Twitter or Patreon. His Twitter account is locked and dark. I suspect his will not be the last.
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