TwitchCon kicks off in San Diego this weekend, but some of the streamers it was built for are deciding to stay home. According to Digiday‘s Alyssa Mercante, cost, safety worries and an unclear payoff have made Twitch’s biggest yearly event a harder sell for many creators, even as brands and streaming companies keep showing up.

Quieter buzz before the doors open

In the run-up to the show, posts spread on X claiming Twitch was giving tickets away and that Partner ticket counts were the lowest in years. Twitch did not say outright whether attendance was down. A spokesperson told Digiday that “events have changed a lot in the past few years” since the post-COVID surge in demand, and confirmed the company was handing out tickets through its Ambassador program, which it has done before.

The event itself is still a big production. As Net Influencer‘s Dragomir Stojkov laid out in his creator economy event calendar, TwitchCon San Diego runs November 13 to 15 at the San Diego Convention Center, with Twitch Rivals Arena, the Glitch Theater, Community MeetUps and Creator Camp workshops on the lineup. The official TwitchCon passes page shows the earlier $149 and $159 pass tiers sold out, with passes now listed starting at $169.

Creators doing the math

Digiday spoke with six creators and two brands, and the creators kept coming back to return on investment. Veronika “Nikatine” Ripley, a Twitch Ambassador with more than 30,000 followers who attended every year from 2018 through 2023, said she has found she makes more money simply streaming than she does from deals and meetings at the convention.

Amira “Xmiramira” Virgil, part of the first class of Twitch Ambassadors, told Digiday the brands she wants to work with can be found at events that don’t cost her upwards of $3,000. Streamer Frogan, who has nearly 70,000 followers, called the show “way too expensive” with few incentives for Partners, while Quin “CtrlAltQuin” Martin said traveling across the country “to create free content for Twitch” doesn’t make sense right now.

Streamer Tevin “YourBudTevin” Lolar described three types of attendees: small streamers looking to learn and network, mid-level streamers hoping to meet brands, and top names who host events and lock in big partnerships. With stars like Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed having outgrown the convention, Lolar said Twitch needs to lift up community-driven streamers to keep the event healthy.

Brands still see a fit

The business side is more upbeat. Ashray Urs, head of Streamlabs, told Digiday that around half of TwitchCon attendees are streamers, which makes it a natural place for a broadcast software company to gather feedback and meet partners. Mike Murphy O’Reilly, chief revenue officer at Dexerto, called it a “core event” that brings endemic and non-endemic clients together, though he admitted this year “does feel quieter.”

Not every agency is sold. Justin Miclat, chief growth officer at Click Media, said he lacks a clear picture of what TwitchCon is today and how he would add value by being there. Digiday noted his Kinetic Group agency spent $50,000 producing a TwitchCon event showcasing women in the industry last year.

Safety stays on the agenda

Nearly everyone Digiday interviewed brought up safety, pointing to an incident involving top creator Emiru at a 2025 meet-and-greet and to IRL streamers filming constantly on and around the convention floor. This year Twitch introduced lanyards that let attendees signal how comfortable they are being on camera. Martin, who uses a mobility device, added that accessibility can feel like an afterthought. Twitch’s spokesperson said the company has increased its security investment, added more trained safety staff and tightened escalation procedures for on-site teams.

The takeaway

For brands, TwitchCon is still a rare room full of streamers. For many mid-tier creators, it is now a line item that has to beat a weekend of streaming at home, and right now it often doesn’t. That is a lesson for every creator platform: an in-person event only works if the people on camera can see a clear return for showing up.

Featured image: San Diego Convention Center, photo by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.