Top Streamers Back Out of TwitchCon 2025 Over Growing Safety Concerns
- Sagar Mankar
- Oct 5
- 2 min read
Several top Twitch creators, including Valkyrae, QTCinderella, HasanAbi, and now Asmongold, have announced they’re skipping TwitchCon 2025 in San Diego amid rising fears over safety and security.
The event, scheduled for October 17–19, is usually one of the biggest celebrations of live streaming culture, but this year, it’s being overshadowed by growing unease among some of Twitch’s most recognizable faces.
Streamers Pull Out Over Mounting Security Worries
In the past few weeks, many well-known Twitch personalities have taken to social media to share why they’re reconsidering their attendance. What started as a few isolated announcements has now turned into a wave of withdrawals.
QTCinderella and Valkyrae were among the first to voice their concerns, even deciding to cancel a live taping of their popular podcast Wine About It that was planned for the convention.
Rae was particularly open about her anxiety, referencing the tragic murder of Japanese streamer Airi Sato, who was fatally stabbed by a male stalker while streaming in Tokyo. She shared, “I’ve been so anxious and scared and sad this whole past week with everything that’s been going on. …Respectfully, I don’t feel irrational about it. I feel very scared.”
Pokimane, one of Twitch’s biggest names, said on stream that she also feared it might not be safe to attend. Later, on her podcast with LilyPichu, both creators discussed potentially canceling appearances altogether. Lily even mentioned possibly pulling out of her artist booth, saying, “I might cancel my meeting. I’m not in the mood to meet people lately.”
Political streamer Hasan Piker (HasanAbi) added that the current climate has made public events increasingly difficult for him. He explained, “There is, unfortunately, an obvious setback there. One, all the political incidents that have taken place. And two, how those incidents have had significant consequences in how much I can go out in the real world and socialize.”
Now, Asmongold, one of Twitch’s most outspoken figures, has confirmed he’ll also skip TwitchCon San Diego. During the recent broadcast, shortly after returning from hiatus, he shared that while he doesn’t personally fear for his safety, he can’t ignore what’s been happening around the event.
He referenced several disturbing incidents from previous conventions, including a sexual assault against streamer Nmplol during TwitchCon 2024 and the 2022 ball pit accident where a streamer broke her back after jumping into an unsafe display. Asmongold joked, “You got people breaking their backs. Bro, TwitchCon sounds like a BDSM event. So no, I’m not trying to get into that........ They got the zoo over there. That is the zoo.”
So far, Twitch hasn’t issued a major statement addressing the situation, though fans and creators alike are demanding reassurance. Many attendees feel that if top-tier streamers don’t feel safe, something is clearly off with how the event is being managed.
