Getting yourself noticed on any platform is a challenge, regardless of if it’s starting out on Mixer or if you’re trying to become a competitive player in Hearthstone. Mixer’s Up and Coming section really helps new streamers get seen though, so let’s take a look at how it works.
Are you trying to work out how to get on the Mixer Up and Coming section?
The Mixer Up and Coming section is pulled together based on Mixer streamers who have recently created an account on the platform as well as the streamer having at least 5 viewers on their current stream.
That’s been confirmed by one of the original founders of Mixer, Matt Salsamendi, in multiple places and most recently in mid-2019. It’s unlikely that the algorithm has been updated yet, so this information from Matt is still relevant.
Let’s dig into other the factors at play here…
How Mixer Up and Coming Works
Although there isn’t a lot of information publicly available around how the algorithm works, we’ve been able to find quite a lot from official social media accounts as well as posts from the founders.
There are two things we know of which impact your chance of getting into the section.
The Channel Creation Date
This is the first variable which we’re certain is a factor. Although there isn’t a lot of information publicly available based on how the algorithm works, what we do know for sure is the channel creation date is probably the most important factor behind getting into the Mixer Up and Coming section.
With the lack of additional detail out there though it’s difficult to dig into this in great depth with accuracy, for example will your channel show in the Mixer Up and Coming if your account is over 6 months old and have been streaming on and off?
There’s no definitive answer to this question, however we can glean some information from various sources including Matt (the founder) who’s given a little insight several times.
Based on the research we’ve done, it’s very likely that there’s a weighted preference with the most recently created channels having a much higher chance of appearing in the Mixer Up and Coming section when compared to older channels.
Older channels do occasionally show up, but it’s much rarer for that to happen.
Your Stream Needs 5 Viewers
That brings us onto the second variable which we’re certain exists, your stream needs at least 5 viewers on the stream you’re currently running.
So that’s not 5 viewers total over all the streams you’ve ever done, it’s getting to 5 viewers for your current stream and we’re pretty sure the speed you get to those 5 viewers is a factor too – if it takes you 2 hours to get to 5 viewers it seems less likely that you’ll be featured in the Mixer Up and Coming section.
Once you hit this number then, if your channel isn’t months and months old, you’ve got a good chance of appearing in that section.
Even if your stream then continues to grow to hundreds of viewers it seems to have no impact on you being “removed” from the Up and Coming section, you’ll remain there for the remainder of your current stream.
Other Factors For Mixer’s Up and Coming
In addition to the official responses we’ve found from research, there could be some other factors at play in getting your stream to show up.
There’s an article on the official Mixer pages which has the following useful snippet…
The Mixer channels that show up on the “Featured” and “Up and Coming” tabs are automatically selected based on the number of viewers, followers, and total views on Mixer.
From The Mixer Support Website
We already understand number of viewers section of this based on our initial research above, however the followers and total views is new information which is useful.
Number of Followers
The number of total followers is something we have a little control over and there are lots of articles covering how to grow your followers all over Reddit, so we won’t delve into this a huge amount.
One simple technique to use is thanking every viewer on your stream for spending time with you and asking them to follow the stream. It’s very straightforward but overlooked by so many streamers.
Total Views
It’s much harder to control this and it’s probably the reason you’re reading this article in the first place, you’re trying to get your viewers up!
Although useful knowledge to have you can’t really control this one.
Games For Mixer Up and Coming Section
One consistent thing mentioned in a huge number of places while doing our research was that Mixer gives priority to the most popular games of the moment – basically, those games showing in the “Top Games” list.
It’s clear why this theory exists as if you take a look at the Mixer Up and Coming section it’s almost always full of the most popular games of the moment.
Once you start to get a feel of the actual Mixer Up and Coming algorithm though you come to the realization that popular games are in this section often simply because so many more streamers are playing those games, it’s not some calculation weighting in favor of showing those games over other ones.
If you click into the “See All” link in this section you’ll actually see plenty of games which aren’t what you would consider the most popular ones out there, it’s just because there are only 4 spots on the homepage the chances are stacked against you regardless of the game you’re streaming.
Has Mixer Up and Coming Always Worked This Way?
The algorithm actually used to be very different compared to the current version and there’s a really fantastic comment buried in a Reddit comment from Matt as follows:
…the algorithm used to work based on time streamed instead of account age. The more time you spent streaming the less likely you were to be on up and coming. It was also based on follower velocity instead of viewer count.
Comment by Matt on a Reddit post
Although the Mixer team has re-coded the algorithm since that first version, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to assume they used their learning from the first one and put it into the new one.
The new algorithm could very likely be based on the velocity of the viewer count hitting/surpassing 5 viewers as well as taking some consideration into account for the amount of time streamed too.
Are Large and Partnered Streams A Concern?
A fair question seen around is if some of the larger streamers moving over from say Twitch to Mixer (who can instantly surpass 5 viewers on a new account) can get featured in the Up and Coming section.
We actually have seen this happen to streamers moving over with a few hundred streamers, but not with the really large ones such as King Gothalion or Shroud.
Being partnered in Mixer is still a very special event and so we assume when you’re partnered coming into the platform that’s one of the major factors which removes you from the Mixer Up and Coming section for sure.
That about sums up everything we know about this and the research should help you get a grasp of how to try and get into the section yourself – best of luck getting in there, it can be a nice boost to your numbers if you can make it onto the front page.
Other Sections On Mixer
There are 3 other, main sections on the Mixer homepage which are worth knowing about…
Featured
The Featured section on the homepage seems to be a larger version of the Up and Coming section on Mixer.
It regularly has streamers in there ranging from a few hundred viewers to a few thousand, so it wouldn’t surprise us if it’s a similar algorithm but scaled up.
Partner Spotlight
In Mixer you’ll see that partners are selected a lot more carefully compared to other platforms, they see these partners as a direct representation of their platform.
The Partner Spotlight section features streamers Mixer picks out and puts them here regardless of if they are online at the moment or not.
Top Streams
This is Mixers “everything else” bucket and features an infinite scroll, meaning you will just keep scrolling this looking at streamers.
It’s sorted so that streams with the most viewers are at the very top.