Twitch is ending its pandemic-era Prime Video viewing parties

If you’re one of the — apparently few — people left who still throw watch parties now that the pandemic lockdown is far behind us, we’re sorry to say that watching Prime Video shows with your Twitch friends will soon be no more option. Amazon’s subsidiary is removal the Prime Video Watch Party feature from its online streaming platform on April 2, almost four years after it became available to all of its users. Twitch introduced the feature in a closed beta test back in 2019 and then released it to streamers in the US in 2020, shortly after the world nearly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

You may have used watch parties as a way to connect with other people in those days so that you were still together even if you weren’t in the same place. It may have been a godsend if you got through those lockdowns alone and maybe they helped you get through some really tough days of isolation. According to Diversity, nearly one-fifth of US adults participated in a virtual co-viewing experience in 2020. But your habits may have changed since the lockdowns were lifted. You may no longer use that Peloton bike and home gym setup… and you may no longer host or attend watch parties as often, if at all. Not when you can go to the gym or go to actual theaters with friends.

Twitch’s announcement said usage of the feature on its platform has “declined over the years.” Instead of thinking about ways to make it more attractive, the company decided to remove it completely and invest its resources in other features.