Twitch removed the PogChamp emote from its platform after the ‘face of the emote’, Ryan ‘Gootecks’ Gutierrez, ‘encouraged … violence’ in a Twitter statement on 6 January. The platform wants to create a new emote to replace the iconic one. image.
The PogChamp emote has been an important part of Twitch chats for almost a decade – and even the internet lexicon. However, the platform wants to wipe out its existence on January 6, due to the controversial pronouncements of ‘the face of the emote’.
Ryan ‘Gootecks’ Gutierrez wrote a tweet about protests in America which according to the platform “encourages further violence”.
The iconic PogChamp emote has been removed from Twitch. It was a global emote on the platform for eight years.
“We have taken the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the emote that encourage further violence after what took place in the Capitol today,” the platform wrote in its January 6 statement.
‘We want the sentiment and use of Pog to survive – its significance is far greater than that of the person portrayed or the image itself – and it has a large place in Twitch culture. However, we cannot continue in good conscience to make the image possible. ”
Twitch wants to work with the community on a replacement emote that contains ‘most hype moments’. However, they still have to share the exact process of how they are going to do it.
We made the decision to remove the PogChamp emote following statements from the emote that encourage further violence after what took place in the Capitol today.
– Twitch (@Twitch) 7 January 2021
The emote has different forms on the platform using BTTV and FrankerFaceZ, third-party extensions that give users more variety in chat.
BTTV announced that they would not remove their emotions – which include POGGERS – because they “never removed emotions due to controversy.”
However, FrankerFaceZ will remove all variations of the image from their extension. “After Twitch, we are removing the portrayal of the person from FFZ, but that could take a while,” they said on Twitter.
Hello everyone, we’re hearing Twitch and we’re hearing about recent developments around the PogChamp emote. After Twitch, we remove the person’s depictions from FFZ, but this may take some time. Please report the emotions you feel are problematic, and we will act. ^ DS
– FrankerFaceZ (@FrankerFaceZ) 7 January 2021
Streamers reacted to its removal because it was previously one of the most popular emotions available. xQc understood Twitch’s decision, and other streamers requested that it be replaced by other streamers who did a similar face.
PogChamp, as well as derivative tools like ‘PogU’ and ‘POGGERS’, have been working in the internet’s vocabulary for the past few years.
UPDATE Friday, January 8 10:20 AM PST: Twitch has now announced a plan to release a new PogChamp emote for an unspecified time every 24 hours.
“You know what? In the spirit of coming up with 2021, let’s roll with it for now!” They tweeted on January 8 in response to a fan suggesting that the emote is not removed, but rather randomized from a pool of multiple streamer faces. “Get ready for a new PogChamp every 24 hours from 24 hours.”
You know what? In the spirit of figuring out 2021 together, let’s work with it for now!
Get ready for a new PogChamp every 24 hours, starting today. https://t.co/R16EyASsFx
– Twitch (@Twitch) 8 January 2021
The original PogChamp emote dates back to 2010 due to one of Gutierrez’s videos. It was added to Twitch in 2012 and was one of the first “global emotions” viewers could use.