Platform

Twitch Adds New Community-Driven Monetization Tools for Eligible Creators

Published on May 19, 2026

Twitch announced three new monetization features designed to increase creator earnings through community participation: Creator Badge Drops, Custom Power-Ups, and expanded Hype Train formats.

Creator Badge Drops

Creator Badge Drops allows streamers to design custom badges for live events and set viewer unlock conditions based on subscriptions or minutes watched. During testing, creators who configured custom badges for their events saw up to 50% more gift sub revenue on the first day of their event compared to their monthly average, according to Twitch. The feature is available through the Badge Drops Dashboard.

Custom Power-Ups and Hype Train Expansion

Custom Power-Ups allow viewers to spend Bits (Twitch’s virtual currency) to trigger creator-defined on-stream effects. Creators set the parameters and Bits cost, giving chat a direct mechanism to shape live content. The feature is accessible through the Points and Channel Rewards Dashboard.

On Hype Trains, Twitch stated that more than a third of viewer spending on the platform goes toward the feature. The company tested Community Trains earlier this year, a format that distributed emote rewards to all viewers regardless of participation. Testing found that differentiated Hype Train types can generate twice as much revenue as standard Hype Trains. Twitch plans to introduce additional formats over the coming months, including adjustments to trigger mechanics and new viewer reward types. The company noted these special formats will activate on a small percentage of all Hype Trains.

“Your biggest earning moments are the ones that give your community something to do together,” Mike Minton, Chief Product Officer at Twitch, wrote in the announcement. “That desire to participate, equip badges, and create moments isn’t something we invented. It’s what Twitch was built around, and we’ve built features to help turn that participation into earnings.”

According to Stream Hatchet, Twitch retained its standing as the most-watched live streaming platform in 2025, logging 19.2 billion hours watched for the year.

Twitch said creators can get additional details on the new features at TwitchCon Rotterdam or through its Patch Notes series.