The Truth About Growing on Twitch (Cohh Carnage Interview)

Ben Cassell, better known as "Cohh Carnage", is among the most respected streamers in Gaming. We sat down to better understand the person behind the stream; the same person who balances a deep passion for games with his family, a myriad of game dev projects, and a community of thousands who he broadcasts to daily.
The business of games is ever changing however the phrase “games are hard to make” seems constant. As a reaction to this sentiment, we wanted to sit down with battle-tested developers, entrepreneurs, and startups, to learn how they navigated their own choppy waters. What we found is that winning isn't defined by the hand dealt but the strategy and foresight of how to play it.
This is Win Conditions.
Host: Lester Chen - x.com/Chen
Guest: Ben "Cohh Carnage" Cassell - x.com/CohhCarnage
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:22 - Growing up in Norrath
03:41 - Discovering Lethal Frag & Twitch
04:51 - A Long Way from DJ'ing
10:11 - Finding Mentors
12:19 - Understanding Success
17:31 - The Decision to Go Full Time
20:47 - Influencing success & Establishing Values
24:02 - It All Could End at Any Moment
25:42 - Learnings from Failure
27:13 - The Fall of Traditional PR
29:28 - What every streamer needs to know
31:31 - What every developers need to know
34:43 - How the Gaming Industry is Changing
39:07 - The Genius of Baldur's Gate 3
40:36 - Palworld Chat & Meme Games
Stay Updated:
Find us on Twitter: / a16zgames
Find us on LinkedIn: / a16z
#cohhcarnage #twitchstreamer #a16z #winconditions #creator

[@SentientPickle]

Cohh is one of those streamers along with guys like DrLupo or Gothalion that I've always felt had the right outlook on streaming and had his priorities in order, always remembering family. I not only admire them as streamers, but as human beings. You get the community you cultivate, and the tone he set with his community early on has resulted in one of the most kind, friendly and giving communities on the site. Kudos to you, Cohh for everything you've accomplished and everything you will accomplish in life. Thanks for all the years of great streams and moments. You're a stand-up guy and whether everyone realizes it or not, we're all the better for your efforts and presence.

[@kurtwinchell]

I didn't find Cohh until late, maybe because I was away from Twitch for several years, but I was bummed that I hadn't found him sooner. Definitely the kind of personality we could use more of.

[@StreamElements]

Great interview! Allow us to also throw in a GG to how Cohh and his team were able to build their own suite of engagement tools in a time where there were none!

[@A16ZGAMES]

ahead of its time!

[@funknode]

@@A16ZGAMES I kinda picture Barry as the guy who 'lived in the close' in Real Genius.

[@DodgeyWizard]

What timing for the interview with the charity stream hair 😂😂😂

[@dannyboylan5926]

I'm not a big fan of Twitch these days, but I've been watching Cohhs KZbin videos for years now. He has every second of every stream on there. He's opened me up to not only so many good games, but genre of games. Thanks Cohh!

[@bluumberry]

Technically not true. Sadly he has removed some of his playthroughs. I personally really miss his vods of spikechunsoft games😭

[@AR45H]

@@bluumberry Not of his own choice though, it's dmca related. Some companies are very hostile in regards to content of their products on youtube.

[@bluumberry]

@@AR45H Yeah, but he never put those in question back up after it was proven to be a false alarm.

[@MinhNguyen-ny2ns]

@@bluumberry I would do the same if in his shoes, why risk the headaches or future strikes. Even false alarm strikes can take down/demonetize the channel.

[@MajsterMorte]

Cohh has legs?! Impossible!!

[@silverlock15296]

pretty long ones too! Cohh's tall!

[@Pinkfloydeasye187]

And he has pants on what the hell's happening.🤣

[@kael13]

And why's he got a furry animal on his head?

[@betasloth]

Cohh appeared to me about 9 years ago via YT at the lowest point in my life. I was fresh outta jail, homeless and expecting to die since I am disabled and couldn't work. I didn't think I was properly disabled until others pointed it out to me and a lawyer vouched for me and won me SSD. CohhCarnage is a major factor in keeping my mentality positive enough for me to move forward in life and I will never be able to repay him for it but I know he wouldn't ask for payment regardless.

[@A16ZGAMES]

🫂

[@ulfgardulfson3037]

😂 and now a weeb? Dude srsly

[@betasloth]

@@ulfgardulfson3037 Prodding for a reaction is cute. Shall I craft a doll for you? Making friends can be tough and you seem to need one.

[@Chris3s]

@@ulfgardulfson3037 I am not sure why people always try to make or find a divide, weeb or non-weeb, fury or non-fury, playstation vs xbox, left vs right, and many more... why do people need to always go there? (it is understandable if those are trying to change you, but most of em are just minding their own business)

[@CohhCarnage]

Damn, dude. Awesome how you got back on track! Congratulations!

[@Alucard171]

First Cohh and now PirateSoftware. It's really awesome to see those two amazing people blow up and become a voice for the community.

[@justkev9317]

Loooong time lurker for Cohh’s stream but this man and this community have gotten me through a very long recovery after a major surgery and I’ll forever be grateful for them.

[@CasasPlays]

Fantastic interview with Cohh. Tons of great engaging questions. This really reminded of the style of a Colin and Samir style interview and I’d love to see more interviews like this.

[@A16ZGAMES]

wow - that is high praise. Huge C&S fan.

[@zygomedia]

If there was a Twitch Hall of Fame, Cohh would have his place. Pioneer on so many fronts and what a cool format to honor that. GGWP! 👊

[@blairfggk120]

Well cohh was in this small little group call hall of gamers dad or hall of hot D something like that

[@TimCherminGames]

Here for the blonde hair

[@A16ZGAMES]

pls no.

[@Zrksys]

Oh yea😂

[@ziplitpls5872]

I raise a glass to that

[@coled2424]

cohh is one the few big streamers left that has not completely sold out and still does it for the love of gaming

[@Machobunni]

Cohh is one of the cases, where he analytically made his success possible. I've watched him since the first episode of DF with ItmeJP, so I got the privilege to witness his massive growth (the turning point for those that don't know was Fallout 4 for him). I am one that does agree luck (especially with the massive amount of streamers in this day an age) plays a part in it. But luck is not the single factor that dictates success. Not many can do what Cohh did. The man even made spreadsheets to help him identify information for how he would progress streaming (stream times, what games, etc). This was how he came to the conclusion of becoming a SFW streamer. In the early era of streaming there were so few of them. Cohh saw the opening from his research, and acted. Also, for anyone who is confused by the weird blonde hair, Cohh died it for a big charity event. He doesnt usually have blonde hair.

[@Phobos666]

We are all here for Cohhcarnage but let me say the interviewer Lester Chen did a really awesome job, had the right questions, understood the situations perfectly and really seems to be a decent guy. More kudos to Lester Chen.

[@Speedwar88]

man, its great to see him go to where he is now, i remember watching as apart of the community sub 300 viewers. So happy for him and his family!

[@TheMetalfreak360]

Haven't seen the video yet. But just wanted to say, I will never forget the time when we sat in his chat and watch him tear down that greenscreen he had behind him and he was gonna move. Finally it seemed he came to a point where he was sure this was gonna work out for him and his family. Always loved Cohh's streams, and have helped me a lot during my time growing up when I was struggling. Good vibes! And Good show!

[@AxxT]

The only thing I missed in this video is when he also started with youtube, and can make youtube viewers feel a part of the twitch community. I often don't have time to watch twitch, so watch them on KZbin. And I love that!

[@elhepe1290]

This is so weird but so cool at the same time when you are used to watching the streams and VODs. Thanks for the awesome interview! :)

[@KillerBubbles95]

Stumbled across Cohhs twitch channel around 8 years ago and crazy how fundamental his streams have become to my day to day goings. The community he has built over the years is unreal and can not be beaten

[@Paragleiber]

I have known about Cohh since the beginning of Dropped Frames (can't believe it has already been 9 years now... where has all the time gone?) and he is definitely someone to look up to as an aspiring creator. Nice interview!

[@Mac_Taviish]

Well that could've gone on for another hour. What a pleasure to listen and watch. Fantastic questions. Organic and thought provoking answers. As if i needed more reasons to be on team Cohh. Cant wait to see what him and his team accomplish next. Thanks for the video

[@marketingmark]

Love watching Cohh. Hr's created such a great community. Great interview!

[@ghastous]

Been watching and a Sub of Cohh now for many years and outa all the streamers on twitch and everywhere else none one at all comes anywhere close to how Cohh and his community is its just that great to be apart of.

[@yredpanda]

Amazing interview!! Very fluid conversation and it gave me increased respect for Cohh which I already had a huge amount of respect for. The info he gives is very real and down to earth and a great perspective of streaming and game industry. Definitely subscribing to this channel to see more interviews done this well.

[@olivierlabrosse3126]

Kinda shows how authentic Cohh is on stream. All-around great guy. 👍

[@Buhizo]

Thank you for this. Loving it

[@ridingwithcj]

Just passed my 96 month streak on Twitch to Cohh 👌

[@weertangel7231]

This was a great interview and really informative! I hope Cohh keeps going strong, he's such a big part of my daily life that it would be very sad not to see him doing his thing anymore.

[@LimaZuluTango]

Great interview! Loved it.

[@Cracker47975]

Cohh is truly the best streamer/youtube content creator out there in my opinion. Vibe is always so relaxed and his gameplay is also so good.

[@slarknowles]

Cohh is an extremely honest & likeable guy. Such a good character & great to watch. I have been watching since his first run of subnautica. Mostly KZbin but I pop onto a live stream often too. He deserves all of this success & then some 👍🏼 he's a dude!! 😎 Great interview! Also...never realised how tall he is!! 😮😂 Xx

[@mike2002bartell]

Found Cohh a few years back on Twitch and have really enjoyed his streams.

[@ThePortugeezer]

Cohh's channel is a damn oasis, great community, great vibes, good place to be around.

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

Incredible insight thank you

[@DigitalQuackVT]

Cohh is like that you have grandfather on twitch. Always a place to go and chill with no worries.

[@Blackhawknz1]

I have watched Coh for yeeeears. One of the most non-toxic people in the streaming game. Also, even after all these years - I had no idea how much of a giant he is!

[@ggs4869]

so the guy wears a beanie every day every year and the time he does an interview hes got anime protagonist hair, i respect it

[@MrRavmoor]

It absolutely needs a lot of work, but I do think he downplays the luck factor a bit. Not intentionally of course, it's just that it's hard to see your own luck when you've also worked so hard. Capitalizing on luck is extremely important, but it does tend to make one at least somewhat blind to it's influence. But he definitely deserves all of his success and it's great to see. I love his work.

[@mikelewer]

Cohh has been a streamer I've watched for 4-5 years now. He brings one of the best communities any platform offers. His moderators are amazing. His explanations on stream and on Twitter are always met with a overwhelmingly positives vibes and level headedness. Cohh gives me something to look forward to and he works his ass off for all of it. I genuinely care a lot for him, his message, and his vision. I can't say enough about how great he is.

[@kaali8787]

This whole interview is GoodVibes, one of the first streamers I followed on Twitch back in 2017 when I first learned about what Twitch was (I miss old Twitch)

[@_CJ_]

Great interview. What I like the most on streamers is when they are genuine about game they play... Especially when it is some story game... Need to understand the story and so on... And doing some silly mistakes :) Thanks

[@RageQuittersUKOfficial]

No ego, no drama, no outrage. Family man who happens to also create outstanding content. Fantastic.

[@blaymeister]

Well done. Fabulous interview. Cohh is a shining light, he's real, and an honest, self-reflective human being. I can't watch him as much these days, but he will always be the gold standard. Both as a streamer and as a human. Appreciate you and all the Cohhmunity

[@Paragleiber]

20:47 I totally agree that knowing your worth is very helpful but how do you actually do that? I have gotten a few emails myself before asking me if I want to make a sponsored video for a game but they always asked me what my "rate" is and I never had any idea what I should tell them. It's very hard to judge what stuff like that is worth as someone who is new to it, also because other creators almost never openly talk about it. I remember one time iNcontroL told a story on the Pylon Show podcast about some game company that asked him for a sponsored stream and I believe he said they offered him $100 per hour. And when I heard that I thought "wow, he got an amazing offer there". And then iNcontroL said something like "haha, can you believe they thought I would do a sponsored stream for that little?" and I was like "huh??". I think a lot of upcoming creators probably way underestimate what they could ask for. And I also remember some big creators in the past being critical of new creators who agree to work for little money because it drives down the rates for everyone. But how should new creators know any better if most of the established ones aren't transparent? Most people don't have an experienced management team that will sit down with them like they did with Cohh.

[@LinkinParkConnoisseur]

What an amazing interview!

[@p.manu1000]

I just searched for other interviews with Cohh and I couldn't find any. Big sad search tbh. I would LOVE to see Cohh in some more interviews. I didn't even know he's name until now, and I'm watching him almost weekly for the past 5 years at least.

[@twitch_jablonsky1]

Great interview, thank you for your hard work! Actually didn't watch Cohh before, but that "Would helldivers be successful without democracy?" is a genius question! Again, thank you for the content

[@Drewbert319]

Thank you so much for this interview i learned so much about game development as a starting developer. was going to make a game "safe" for wider audience but because of this video think i'm going to risk more and go crazy! tyvm btw love cohh and red eye monster keep pumping out the yt play along!

[@thelords1615]

The selling point for me is Cohh's taste in games...so good!

[@Martinpett1986]

Cohh is Amazing, reason why wanted to start myself but crashed hard :/ started with Cohh back in 2015

[@Myth_308]

Love this guy’s story. It just goes to show you what hard work and determination will get you, as well as how far a passion and belief in what you’re doing will take you. Big respect my dude 👊

[@Kizmar]

Cohh is a chill, respectful guy. He deserves every second of the success he's had.

[@drumnbassdan]

Subbed for over 9 years, love the guy.

[@buildbroadcore]

I still have my 5k Coh special Tshirt. We need to keep this man safe

[@ProvidenceNL]

Been watching Cohh for so long, love this interview! Earned a sub for sure! Im just wondering if Cohh regretted the timing of dying his hair for the charity goal and this interview, since it seemed like he was pretty over the blond hair pretty soon hahaha.

[@3twelve206]

This is awesome! Cant wait to check this out.

[@Aarontheman-5567]

Great interview for a great streamer and KZbinr. 👍

[@nicoengebret]

Cohh, can you please go to the graphics settings on your T-Shirt and turn off Chromatic Aberration?

[@LightyGab]

Amazing interview, lots to learn from as someone who is fascinated about the business side of gaming (aside from loving playing) and often finds it so hard to find educational content like this, instead what I most find is just your typical PR knowledge or just scraps one can gather from news here and there, we need more of this to better understand the industry and how things actually work, so much is left to interpretation. Should maybe bring Maximillian Dood at some point if possible, another OG on the platform with tons of knowledge to share!

[@A16ZGAMES]

That is the goal of this channel!

[@LastEmberGames]

Hey Cohh, I don't know if you'll see this, but I deeply respect the path you've taken, and your respect and demeanor for the game development community. I've watched you for years and really like that you can genuinely tell when you love the games you've played and want to share them with your community. BONFIRE

[@MrSyphen6]

Crazy I was in his guild before he was on twitch and now hes huge pretty cool.

[@JsttomM]

Elton Cohhnes strikes back! Listen, this man took me out of the darkest point in my life and saved my life LITERALLY. While watching one of his streams back in 2015 after a whole year of sh/ty things happening, i got notified via email, that my (by that time) wife to be, was pregnant with (by that time) my bffs child. I had reached a pinacle of chaos so strong, so massive, that i jumped out the window of my flat 7 floors down between trees and rocks. I hadn't noticed at that time, that i'd had done this with my phone in hand... anyway, all i remember (which isn't much), is going in and out hearing Cohh saying "The ship is down!" "BOOM! neat shot! BOOM!" "We are under attack!", the rest is jiberish. Fastforward 2 months later, i woke up with just a minor leg fracture and pretty much almost recovered at 100%. Talking later with my doctor, he said "thank god" they'd found me "concious". if i had closed my eyes, that would had been it. So yeah, that's my story with this SOAB! He maintained me kinda concious while screaming pirate things while playing Balckwaves/wakes, i don't really remember the name. And then, while seeing him achieving things, spreading love and kindness, got me to rejoin life. So, props to Cohh, and very very nice interview.

[@aleksandrshaitor1563]

Started to watch Cohh since Fallout 4 .... Can't say that i watch all of his streams , but for me He is REPRESENTATION of true gaming streamer . Great guy !

[@Jaynna09]

Cohh is a great streamer and someone I look up to.

[@bwheatley1]

It's weird seeing this interview during the few days you had that charity blond hair, LOL.

[@Spungizzle]

Cohh talking about his favorite interactions with friends and such, would be them just sitting together in a room, doing their own things. This brought a tear to my eye ... This is 110% me, but so few people aorund me seem to understand it.

[@davebenhart4611]

"There IS a village." What a great line to end on.

[@iyaramonk]

That color banding going on behind you guys on the wall in the closeups, is it from compression or the camera?

[@MrCai01]

Always thought CoH's greatest appeal was the ability to just shut the fuck up to be honest - play the game, comment on interesting things, interact with chat in a meaningful way - rather than incessantly babbling.

[@VladTheRad]

Cohh is such an institution, amazing 💪

[@AnnaKlura]

Lovely interview with a great man. He looks different though, I wonder why.. ❤

[@A16ZGAMES]

can't quite put my finger on it....

[@chriswooten8032]

I cant get over the hair. lol. Love you Cohh.

[@dannyboylan5926]

My man.

[@HopeIsFleeting]

Anyone got a link to the moment Cohh hits 2k subs?

[@seantownsend3333]

Brilliant interview. :)

[@TeddieSage1987]

Cohh is one of the most inclusive, kindest, funny, chill guys on Twitch. I never feel bored when I watch his streams and his playlists online. His whole community embraces the spirit of sharing kindness and giving back. His streams also helped me through a lot of sadder days in my life, while I lost my father many years ago and went through... some personal issues. But yeah, I also had the chance to chat with him occasionally. He really is a lovely husband to Laina, a great role model for his sons, and like a virtual family member to anyone who considers themself a part of the Cohhilition family. Long live the King of Streams!

[@Memphise101]

Cohhcarnage is very down to earth that's why I enjoy watching him

[@chalando6124]

Wonderful Interview ! minus the hair cohhdingus :) lol Well done both of you.😁

[@usmanfarooq9301]

great interview

[@Tygera1989]

get this to 100k!

[@A16ZGAMES]

What year did you start watching Cohh? 🤚2015

[@DarmanORC]

since darn near the beginning. happy to be part of such a wonderful cohhmunity for so long 😁

[@felipecupertino6831]

@@DarmanORC 8, 9 years

[@smaldor]

End of 2014 for me

[@Letalis86]

also 2015 here! My first Twitch subscription too!

[@landsbyreview3420]

2014

[@korkrest2669]

From europe and had the same experience as you Cohh with everquest. Can I ask what server you where on? Played with an entire guild of americans on the Cazic Thule server

[@Kvo_]

That was amazing. Felt like I have better insight on the Cohh and feel like I also have a better concept on streaming, the gaming industry and more. Thanks for sharing

[@blairfggk120]

I didn’t know Tyrion Lannister had blonde hair ! POG!

[@prabhakarchivukula2268]

I started watching him form fallout 4 release

[@TheFrozenicecold]

The blonde hair is the best version of Cohh😊

[@virus1x]

Id like to see one of these with Lirik

[@Endelin]

This channel is going to pop off so hard.

[@gruntzone3605]

Cool interview

[@VerticalThird]

Its been great to see streamers become more active in game development & publishing. Many of them (not all) seem to be much more grounded in terms of creating a great game and sharing the wealth properly between the devs and the publisher. It has been a very needed influx of funding for indie devs!

[@jeffgrecco487]

Cohh is hands down the 🐐 truly a good and insightful human

[@Jsoslow2]

"A lot of people will say 'oh to succeed on Twitch you just get lucky'. Well, no, you don't just get lucky. You just get lucky when you become successful and you don't understand why it happened. If you had understood the situation, is it luck? No, not really! You're just being smart about it." 💯💯💯

[@ItsMeYush]

I dont think i have ever needed to pee so bad while watching a video, that i felt that if i paused it i would miss something xD , such a great interview!

[@A16ZGAMES]

Should we drop the 2 hour version?

[@Thomas2877]

Love this streamer ( no diddy ) Cohh is just a genuine nice guy. Hes probably my 2nd favorite streamer behind Lirik. I dont know how Lirik has done it all these years with no face cam lol.

[@iQuackies]

Gotta reach 100k views!

[@richardalejo6606]

Such a great streamer and awesome guy!

[@captfish100]

Great interview, learned some interesting things. GGs

[@A16ZGAMES]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Dum8kid]

Road to 100k views!

[@juncture231]

Loving the wig Cohh 😂

[@ToshydoshyAkamota]

How have you not done a video on how DEI is influencing games… it’s a great idea and easy proof

[@deatheater6222]

cause they make videos on things that actually are happening