San Francisco, California - Twitch's creation of a dedicated category for controversial hot tub streamers is a step forward for a niche user base – and an admission by the platform that it just can't ignore the huge popularity of this kind of content anymore.

Hot tub streams started popping up when the Just Chatting category was introduced on Twitch a few years ago. The feature allowed streamers to interact with their audiences and many women found that they could get a lot more views in bikinis, and still comply with Twitch's stated rules.

"Just Chatting is Twitch’s biggest non-gaming section by a mile, so it makes sense that streamers – in hot tubs or otherwise – would want to broadcast into it," Twitch reporter Nathan Grayson told Axios.

"Back when Twitch was solely a gaming platform that did not allow broadcasts where streamers literally just chatted, female streamers helped pioneer the now-popular form and got harassed for it," he added.

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Considering Amazon-owned Twitch has been exhibiting some clear confusion about its own rules lately in banning female streamers who were in compliance with the company's terms, the new move to create a dedicated category may make things easier for the company, but harder for streamers.

A statement on the Twitch Blog explained: "Community and advertiser feedback made clear that we need to offer more ways to control the content that’s recommended as well as where ads appear. So, we’re introducing a new category: Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches."

It continued: "If you have chosen swimwear that is allowed under the 'Swim and Beaches' contextual exception to our standard Nudity and Attire policy, you should stream into the Pools, Hot Tubs and Beaches category. We’ll be reaching out to creators with more details on how to use this category moving forward."

This move might indicate that Twitch is just protecting itself from upsetting advertisers according to Axios, as ad partners had been pulling funding on categories they didn't feel met their intended audience.

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This meant that some hot tub streamers got their ad-revenue pulled without notice, even if they weren't in violation of any specific Twitch rules.

The creation of a dedicated "Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches" category doesn't guarantee the streamers will get any ad-funding at all. It just makes it easier for ad partners to opt-out of funding streamers they don't like by tucking the hot-tub streamers into their own little area.