The popular Twitch BibleThump emote will disappear at the end of September, and it doesn’t make much sense. Twitch said in the announcement (via My city) that the emote will be removed due to license expiration, but rights holder Edmund McMillen says he would be elated to renew the license, but it’s not up to him.
BibleThump was popular enough to be included in our 2020 roundup of Twitch emoticon meanings, a handy guide for anyone confused by the deluge of strange faces floating on their screens.
“Roguelike fans will recognize this emote from The Binding of Isaac,” we helpfully explained. “This is little Isaac with tears streaming down his face. “Streaming viewers release BibleThump when a deeply sad or incredibly valuable event appears on the stream.”
While it may be popular, it won’t be available for very long. “The end of the BibleThump era (2013–2024) is near!” Twitch wrote on X. “The rights to our beloved emote expire on September 30. While this is sad news, we know that all emotes go to heaven. Speaking of SCARY, we’re going to need a new emote to spam feelings with…
The end of the BibleThump era (2013–2024) is near! On September 30, the rights to our beloved emote expire. 😭 Although this is sad news, we know that all emotions go to heaven. Speaking of sadness, we’re going to need a new emote to spam those feelings…September 25, 2024
Well, it happens – content disappearing due to expiring licenses is nothing new in the world of video games. However, as the attached community note indicates, things took a strange turn when Edmund McMillen, creator of The Binding of Isaac, stated that he was open to extending his contract.
“For those wondering what happened to the ‘Bible’ emote: I’m 100% on board with coming up with a good solution to keep or modify the emote, but I have no control over Twitch’s new rules, so it’s really up to them,” McMillen sent. In separate posts he confirmed that he still did has rights to emoticon i he repeated that he “would not agree to the renewal of rights.”
So why isn’t this happening? Some on X suggested, perhaps ironically, that Twitch couldn’t afford a new deal: Twitch is owned by Amazon, one of the world’s largest and most valuable companies, but is reportedly struggling to turn a profit. I don’t think it’s that likely. I don’t know how much it will cost to license a single emote based on an old indie game, but I can’t imagine it would be a very large part of Twitch’s revenue. Others have speculated that Twitch wants to move to in-house created emotes that are directly owned by it, which is what McMillen may have been referring to when referring to “Twitch’s new rules.”
Whatever the reason, there was no indication that a new deal might be struck. But it’s possible that BibleThump could live elsewhere. In response to Twitch’s news about its expiring license, streaming platform Kick, a place that pays players like xQc and Nickmercs mountains of money to host gambling streams and recently hosted a notorious former Twitch streamer (he was banned for life in 2023 for “hateful conduct)” Adin Ross published a photo of an i emoticon in a bizarre and surprising broadcast with Donald Trump message to McMillen: “Are we cooking?”
Reaction to Kick’s tweet was almost universally negative, with many respondents asking McMillen not to make the deal. McMillen himself did not indicate whether he would be interested in a deal, but he did re-post Kick’s message. Make of it what you want.
