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There’s a huge resurgence happening with EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Earlier this year the game was deemed as unplayable as it became a hotbed for hackers causing mayhem in its universe. But between the annual May 4th Star Wars celebration, Andor Actor Mohammad Ben Amor sharing his ridiculous 469-hour playtime with the game, and Steam slashing the game’s price down by 90%, the game has found new life.
But there was someone else who unexpectedly gave it even more of a cultural revival. It’s no other than NBA All-star Kyrie Irving.
On his latest twitch stream, the 9-time All-star has expressed his love for the game and wishes EA would finally announce a sequel.
Ever since these events, Star Wars Battlefront II has exploded in popularity—surging from just 1,540 players on its servers to 24,000 this month alone, with a peak of over 35,000 across four days. While Kyrie’s influence wasn’t solely responsible for the revival, there’s something worth noting about the cultural weight celebrities bring when they step into the gaming world. The impact alone can reignite gaming communities, while introducing new fans simultaneously.
While Kyrie may be taking a step back from the NBA due to a torn ACL, he’s finding other ways to stay connected to his fans and community.
The streaming platform Twitch has opened new avenues for content creators to expand their creative expression in ways once unimaginable. Beyond inspiring fresh ideas, it also paves routes toward sustainable revenue. Over time there’s been an influx of popular household names pivoting to content creation platforms, and Twitch has been a beacon welcoming others to its platform.
Celebrities such as T-Pain, Tee Grizzley, and Logic are testimonies to seeing how fruitful its been to their careers. It opens a door for fans to discover them in different lights and discover other interests, where fans might not have been aware of.
In an interview with the verge, Logic shares his experience with the platform:
“I think it’s a powerful platform that allows me to connect with my fans in the best way possible. And the safest way possible for someone in my position.”
Even Kyrie Irving has expressed how it's a chance for him to build genuine connection to his audience, a place rooted in hospitality for mental health and self-expression.
For T-Pain, it’s also become a significant stream of income that gives him prosperity. In an interview with Kotaku, he confirms how lucrative it's been for his career outside of music, “I’m making more money off of video games than I’ve made in the last four years..”
As more stars become prevalent in the streaming space, platforms like Twitch gain greater cultural weight and long-term significance. Brand partnerships and crossover marketing opportunities are becoming more frequent than ever, thanks to the visibility these celebrities bring.
However, it would be disingenuous to overlook the smaller streamers and influencers who laid the foundation for what live-streaming culture is today. Long before celebrities logged on, these creators were innovating formats, building communities, and proving that live content could be both entertaining and sustainable. Their contributions shaped the ecosystem that celebrities now thrive in and that deserves recognition.
Platforms like YouTube and Twitch have long served as creative outlets for everyday people, offering a space to express themselves, build communities, and explore niche interests. Complaints about content creation being overly saturated have already surfaced, and it doesn’t help when these household names take up space for other creators to thrive in. While it may sound exciting, it diminishes the light of creators who build from the ground up, especially when these big-names are susceptible to dominate the algorithm and spotlight.
Let me get this out of the way: I’m a DC fan. So yes, there’s some bias baked into what you’re about to read. But I promise to keep you, the skeptical, Marvel-loving, or just cautiously optimistic reader, in mind as I explain why James Gunn’s Superman feels like the true beginning of the DCU we've all been waiting for.
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