Popular UK streamer Valkia, aka Mark Purdy, has announced he is stepping down from streaming.
The partnered Twitch streamer, who has more than 300,000 followers on the platform, cited health issues and hitting a progression wall as some of the reasons why he’s moving away from Twitch.
Valkia has built a solid name for himself in games such as Overwatch and Call of Duty Warzone in the six years or so he’s been streaming.
He said in a Twitlonger post: “I feel that I’ve hit a progression wall with the streams and that I’m not learning or challenging myself as much as I would like to.
“Switching to different games takes a big toll, and streaming requires more energy than most people realise, and in turn I’ve not been having a great time with my mental health. I suffer from health anxiety and the constant eye strain from streaming and gaming for long hours has become a huge problem for me.
“So I want to take some time away to get help to set myself right again as this has grown to be a big burden. I feel that I’ve let the community down, and haven’t been able to continue to provide what is required to keep a healthy and fun stream.”
However, Valkia did say that there are other exciting things on the horizon for him, including work with games marketing agency Disobey, which focuses on influencer and social media campaigns.
He also said he’ll continue to upload Warzone content on Valkia’s YouTube channel and produce content on channels like TikTok too, with his Discord also remaining active.
Valkia added: “I’ll continue to learn and I’ve got some exciting unannounced projects lined up. I’ll also be getting more involved with Disobey, which will mean that I’ll be able to help provide opportunities to creators and use my marketing background and streaming experience to improve the way brands work with creators.
“I want to thank my community, other streamers that I have met along this journey and every brand that believed in me and provided me with opportunities these last few years.”
We salute you Valkia and wish you all the best – we’ll never forget your epic Pharah plays!
Check out our original streamer spotlight on Valkia from 2016 here
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
