Microsoft's Mixer has a tough hill to climb, but not impossible

Microsoft has the unenviable "underdog" position in various departments right now. But few have a bigger hill to climb right now than Mixer, who is going up against streaming behemoths like YouTube and Twitch. Can Mixer realistically compete?

Microsoft's Mixer streaming platform has a huge hill to climb, and lately, it's arguably gotten even bigger. Microsoft shook up the streaming industry last year when it began buying up major streaming talent, including the likes of Ninja and Shroud, and bringing their sizeable audiences to the platform. While it hasn't proven to be the silver bullet Mixer may have hoped for, it certainly was disruptive. Amazon's Twitch began dropping piles of cash on its stars to keep them from jumping ship, and just last week, Google announced a major deal with Activision-Blizzard for exclusive rights to stream its esports and events on YouTube.

Begun, the streaming wars have. And Mixer is by far the underdog in this space.

Microsoft has incredibly deep pock...