No shirt, no shoes, no service.

Uber-popular game streaming service Twitch has made a slight yet impactful change to its rules of conduct. Where once it merely put a big, fluffy blanket over all naughty bits—banning "sexually explicit acts or content," which included "nudity, stripping, or performing/discussing sexual acts"—it's now seen fit to prohibit sexually suggestive clothing as well. The new rules of conduct section includes this:

"Nerds are sexy, and you're all magnificent, beautiful creatures, but let's try and keep this about the games, shall we?" "Wearing no clothing or sexually suggestive clothing—including lingerie, swimsuits, pasties, and undergarments—is prohibited, as well as any full nude torsos, which applies to both male and female broadcasters. You may have a great six-pack, but that's better shared on the beach during a 2-on-2 volleyball game blasting 'Playing with the Boys.'"


A lot of people have streamed shirtless over the years, as a quick Google search will attest. That type of behavior wouldn't necessarily fall under "sexually explicit acts or conduct," so apparently clarification was needed. This will, however, probably affect at least a small number of streamers pretty significantly, even if most people stream while, you know, wearing clothes. People tend to pay attention when tops pop and flesh runs amok. Some used that to draw viewers.

Guess that's curtains for Fahey's upcoming Nudestravasplosion, then. Goodness, what a shame.


Twitch has undergone quite a few changes recently, especially in the run-up to/wake of Amazon's $970 million purchase of the massive streaming service. This is not necessarily a direct result of that, but it does continue a theme of change and rules clarification as Twitch grows from David-sized niche into a multimedia Goliath.

Did you ever tune in to Twitch broadcasters that streamed with only the flimsiest scraps hiding their Forbidden Parts? Or—gasp—did you ever stream that way yourself? What do you think about all of this?