Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has declared that he is resigning from his position effectively immediately. In his statement, posted via a Twitch Blog and his personal Twitter page on Thursday March 16, a decision to spend more time with his family is given as the main reason for quitting his executive role: "With my first child just born, I've been reflecting on my future with Twitch." Shear writes. "Twitch often feels to me like a child I've been raising as well. And while I will always want to be there if Twitch needs me, at 16 years old it feels to me Twitch is ready to move out of the house and venture alone."

Shear was a co-founding partner of a humble entity that would eventually evolve into Twitch.tv, he is stepping down after serving as leader since the company's inception: "My work on Twitch began in October 2006, when Justin, Michael, and I drove across the country from New York to San Francisco. Kyle would join us three short months later, when we got him a one way ticket to fly out to San Francisco during MIT's externship week." He continues the story: "Justin.tv, Inc. turned into Twitch Inc., Twitch Inc. became a fully owned subsidiary of Amazon, and along the way we have grown to more than 8 million streamers a month."Shear will remain involved with Twitch in a limited capacity after his exit from the leadership team: "So it is with great poignancy that I share my decision to resign from Twitch as CEO. I want to be fully there for my son as he enters this world and I feel ready for this change to tackle new challenges. I will continue to work at Twitch in an advisory role."

He then announces his successor, Dan Clancy, who joined the company back in 2019 after stints at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and Google: "I've never had more confidence in Twitch's leadership, in all our people, and in our product, than I do today. For many years I truly felt Twitch might die without my guidance and input, but I no longer feel that is true. I think in fact it's exactly that growth which has allowed me to even consider the idea that I might not work at Twitch. Dan Clancy, our current President, has been a close partner to me these past few years. He will step fully into the role of CEO, effective immediately. He cares deeply about the Twitch community, its streamers, and our staff and understands what makes Twitch, Twitch."Twitch was purchased wholly by Amazon back in 2014, but since then the company has been through turbulent times with tensions rising within its own user base - in particular content creators becoming outraged over unfavorable royalty rates. It also faces increased competition from Youtube maneuvering in as a live streaming platform. Much can be read into the timing of Shear's resignation, yet his main reason for doing so - raising a young family, is a sincere one.