TwitchCon returns to San Diego and announces 5-year residency

Many viewers at the TwitchCon opening ceremony on Friday greeted the news that TwitchCon will remain in San Diego for the next five years with cheers and applause.

The streaming platform's convention was held in Las Vegas last year, but San Diego was its favorite location. This year marks the fourth time the city has hosted the convention; the last time was in 2022.

“We love San Diego. We enjoy having it here,” said Mary Kish, Twitch community lead.

Twitch hosts two conventions each year – one in North America and one in Europe. She said the innovative atmosphere in San Diego is a good fit for Twitch.

“San Diego is important to us because it's very technologically advanced,” Kish said. “Twitch is on the cutting edge of technology, and we're also changing the culture. If something is popular on Twitch, you might see it around the world. And I think that really reflects the space we want to be in.”

Tommy Ryan of Carlsbad, who attended with his son Oliver, agrees. He said that unlike San Diego Comic-Con International, TwitchCon is not just about pop culture. There is also a tech community here.

He follows some coder streamers and said that being a software developer could open up a potential career path for his son.

“I took him out of school today so he could experience something,” Ryan said. “Maybe this is a possible career path. It's a lot of work, but I mean, this whole conference is proof that you can make a living with this software.”

Twitch is a streaming platform owned by Amazon. It offers streaming content from art classes to gaming to politics. Because there is no algorithm to beat, it has become a popular platform for content creators to build a community, such as Casper J.

He has built a community of over 60,000 followers. He loves streaming because he can take his audience anywhere.

When he spoke to KPBS, he was in the middle of interacting with his community.

“What I really enjoy is not just these booths or whatever, but meeting old friends that I've never met before and that we've talked to for years,” said Casper J. “And also making connections with new friends.”

It was his first time at TwitchCon, but he really likes the atmosphere here in San Diego. He thinks it's great that the convention is staying in San Diego until 2029.

“I think San Diego was a good city to pass through for many visitors,” said Casper J. “I heard a lot of bad things about Las Vegas last year – that the traffic was bad and that it was difficult to avoid pedestrians.”