@Nibellion, 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.
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“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.
Nibel has voiced issues with the Twitter platform in the past, such as the problems impersonating accounts have caused him due to being unable to gain account verification.
“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,” Nibel wrote.
“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?”
Axios journalist Stephen Totilo wrote in a tweet reacting to the news: “Downer start to the morning, but understandable. Wishing @Nibellion the best!”
The Verge journalist Tom Warren added: “sad to see @Nibellion quit Twitter. It’s a tough job covering every piece of gaming news 24/7, especially with Twitter looking so volatile right now”.
