Whenever we talk with streamers about how Twitch can help them, how to find an audience is one of the topics that comes up most often. With more than 2 million streamers and counting going live on Twitch each month it’s easy to understand why this is top of mind.
We don’t believe Twitch should be a popularity contest. So much of what makes Twitch special are the interactions between streamers and their viewers and viewers chatting with each other. Some people want to feel the roar of the crowd and rally around epic gameplay, while others want a more intimate experience with familiar faces. Since finding the right communities and new streamers to connect with can be difficult, we’ve been working on ways to make forming those long lasting connections easier even as we grow.
Today, we’re giving insight into work that will help viewers discover new channels, choose streams, and find what they’re looking for. Each project is labeled in one of three phases of development:
Live: Projects that have launched recently with links to more information and any actions streamers can take.
In progress: These are things that will be launching in the coming weeks. We’ll give a description, specific dates and, where possible, include visual mocks. • For example: New homepage! We’re rolling out a brand new homepage that features personalized recommendations for every logged in viewer based on what they’ve watched previously.
Planning: For work in this category we’ll outline the basic issue we’re trying to solve and solutions we’re exploring. These projects won’t have schedules or timelines, but we want the community to know they’re on our radar and have the opportunity to ask questions as the work progresses. • For example: We’re building a more intuitive, consistent tagging system so streamers can better describe their stream and viewers can filter by what they want to see.
Any projects that we believe will have high impact or require action from streamers will be marked with an additional “Streamer Heads Up!” label so you won’t miss the most important updates.
We’ll add new categories and projects as they develop and update labels on each as the work progresses. And, true to Twitch’s live, shared, and interactive nature, we’re going to stream a discussion with the community every month, starting this Friday, where we’ll gladly take questions and address any areas of concern.
We know Twitch isn’t just a service or a job to streamers. It’s a community they’ve devoted passion, energy, and countless hours into building alongside us. We try to recognize that in everything we do at Twitch; “streamers-first” is the mantra that underpins every product, every engineering and design decision, and every launch. We want streamers to be excited about the work and opportunities ahead, not anxious or confused about the potential effects.
Our hope is that in sharing our plans around discovery early, streamers will be better prepared for those changes. With such a diverse range of communities and a decade of products in various degrees of usage, every new product release carries the risk that we miss how a small corner of our community is using it. Sharing our plans early helps us spot those corner cases before launch.
So please head on over to link.twitch.tv/discoveryupdates to check out the work for yourself, and don’t forget to join us at www.twitch.tv/twitch at 2pm PST this Friday, June 29th as we talk through everything on it.
Updates to Discovery was originally published in Twitch Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
You may not be familiar with the name Porcupine, but if you’ve watched a Twitch channel with one of their Extensions enabled, chances are quite high you’ve interacted with one of their tools. With just a tiny three-person team, Porcupine builds community-focused Extensions that have served over 100,000 broadcasters, reaching millions of viewers with a wildly impressive engagement rate of 75%! Today we’re taking a look inside their development journey so far, what’s coming next, and what other Extension builders and users can learn from their success so far.
Ido Tal co-founded Porcupine in late 2016 with a focus on live-streaming analytics tools, but with the team’s extensive background in esports and game development, they shifted their focus to developing Extensions.
“We watch Twitch all the time,” Tal said. “At lunch breaks. In the evening. When we do, we feel like there’s a special connection with the streamer. When we started building Extensions, we felt the best way to approach it was to give people new opportunities to interact in livestreams. That’s what draws us… Viewers are hungry for something to do. They want to get more engaged with the broadcast.”
Porcupine’s belief in strong engagement shines through in its previous Extensions: Live Pet, for example, lets streamers adopt a virtual pet that dies if viewers don’t take care of it (but don’t worry; they’re safe when the streamer goes offline). Similarly, their latest Extension, Pixel Hunt, relies on the community coming together to accomplish a common goal. And Porcupine had an amazing opportunity to debut it in a unique way on Twitch.
Pixel Hunt was featured in Episode 3 of Stream On, our ongoing streamer game show produced by Twitch Studios. It was used as part of the show’s first interactive challenge, and each contestant could spawn a grid on their own stream. The task? To rally their communities to come together to find the “golden pixel” hidden within a grid. Communication and collaboration was key, even more so with a cash prize on the line. The experience was an incredible way for Porcupine to get feedback on the Extension and tweak it for the upcoming release to all of Twitch.
“It’s a challenge to get feedback on Extensions,” Tal said. “I think most devs experience that. This was so much easier with Stream On with a guaranteed number of hours and channels. Weeks later we put Pixel Hunt on Pokerstars, with feedback we received from Stream On. We changed the cooldown for placing a pixel. We also removed powerups because sometimes there wouldn’t be a streamer to place powerups, and we wanted viewers to be able to play on their own.”
You can check out Pixel Hunt in action in the Stream On clip below.
Though Extensions on Twitch are still less than a year old, Porcupine is already on its third Extension. Being so early to a new marketplace has advantages, which Tal encouraged developers to take advantage of.
“When you’re early, you have an opportunity to get discovered,” Tal said. “There are not so many devs out there yet, and some of the bigger names in this industry building tools are getting into it. We feel like we have flexibility now in being fast and early … This is going to be really huge. There are going to be thousands of active Extensions. I believe even for a dev getting in at this point, there’s enough space for everyone.”
Do you like games? Of course you do, or you wouldn’t be reading this. What about free games? Well, to celebrate Amazon Prime Day, we’re giving away a new game to Twitch Prime members EVERY DAY from July 2 through July 17th! All you have to do is be a Twitch Prime member and you can get your hands on some amazing games with enough gameplay to keep you entertained on a trip to the moon…and back…twice. Not only that, they’re yours to keep forever. Make sure to check back every day, as the selection will be constantly changing.
Pillars of Eternity Definitive Edition: July 2nd — July 4th: A role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Become enthralled in a world where the paths you take and the choices you make along the way will help forge your destiny.
Metal Slug 3: Metal Slug 3 is an amazing single player run and gun experience where you blast your way through giant crabs, zombies and armored tanks. Get ready to frag!
The Last Blade: Originally released on the NEOGEO, The Last Blade is a globally connected fighting game. Set in an era of sword duels and world traveling warrior adventurers, it blends sword play and supernatural powers to create a highly dynamic and addictive fighting game.
Twinkle Star Sprites: A beautiful 2D game with a familiar top down view. Dodge, and shoot your way to victory in a game that blends both the SHMUP and puzzle genres with absolute brilliance!
QUBE2: July 3rd — July 4th Play as Amelia Cross in this brilliantly crafted sequel to first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. You are stranded in an unfamiliar alien landscape, and only with the help of another distant survivor will you be able to find your way back home.
Battle Chef Brigade: July 4th — 11th An engaging mix of of combo-based hunting coupled with puzzle-focused cooking in an amazingly illustrated fantasy adventure. Play in a single player campaign with Mina and Thrash, or take to the daily leaderboards and challenge your friends!
Manual Samuel: July 5th — July 12th Our hero Samuel — after making a deal with death — must survive for 24 hours while controlling his whole body manually. Whether it’s blinking and breathing or driving and working, it’s all on you to control!
GoNNER: July 6th — July 13th GoNNER is a ridiculously difficult procedurally-generated 2D roguelike platformer. Jump and shoot your way through to the end, or die trying.
Next Up Hero: July 7th — July 14th An incredibly difficult dungeon crawler where you must fight against horrific monsters. Every time you die a spirit is left in your place; which can be resurrected and used to fight beside you.
Uurnong Uurnlimited: July 8th — 14th Wander into a puzzle-filled land of bombs, cubes, adorable animals and weird people!
Hue: July 9th — July 15th A beautifully colored puzzle game where you change the world itself by changing the color of it’s background. You will adventure across a treacherous land void of color, uncovering colored fragments on a quest to find your missing mother.
Deponia Doomsday: July 10th — July 16th Do you have what it takes to change the fate of Deponia? Can you change Rufus’ life without also destroying the whole planet. You will fight against time itself in this hilarious action packed story.
>Observer_: July 11th — 17th What would you do if your worst fears could be hacked? A cyber punk style horror game from the creators of Layers of Fear. Make your way through a world destroyed by plagues, war and squalor.
Tacoma: July 12th — July 18th Tacoma is a sci-fi themed narrative driven adventure game from the company that made the amazing “Gone Home”.Tacoma is set in 2088 aboard an ultra high-tech space station.
The Bridge: July 13th — July 26th Solve puzzles in this beautifully animated 2D game, inspired by M. C. Escher. Challenge your preconceived notions of perspective and physics to solve challenging puzzles.
Brutal Legend: July 14th — July 27th Jump into this heavy metal action adventure RPS mashup featuring voices from rock legends like Ozzy Ozbourne and Rob Halford. You’ll take control of “The Chosen One” to battle through hordes of demons as you fight to save humanity.
The Red Strings Club: July 15th — July 21st A beautifully crafted cyberpunk adventure game. Supercontinent Ltd is a company that is on the brink of removing depression, fear and anger from society. It’s your quest, along with a hacker, and a rogue android to keep Supercontinent Ltd from brainwashing the world.
Tyranny: July 16th — July 18th Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Tyranny is a narrative focused RPG that will change based on the decisions you make while playing. You will make allies, choose sides and fight for your own brand of justice in an incredibly immersive world.
Broken Age: July 17th — July 31st A brilliant point-and-click adventure game from the brilliant minds at Double Fine Productions. Broken Age tells the story of two teenagers, each hoping to break the cycle in their lives and go against the traditions they were born into.
The Framed Collection: July 18th — July 31st Venture into an animated comic book and rearrange the panels to change the outcome of your story. Created as a series of visual puzzles, they will require imagination and logic to move each panel to change the narrative in your favor.
Serial Cleaner: July 18th — July 31st Play as a cleaner for the mob in the 1970’s stealth/action game. As the cleaner, it’s up to you to make sure there’s nothing left for the cops to find that can be used as evidence. If you love gory action games, now you get to play as the guy that cleans that up!
Check out the games on Twitch!
Since we’re giving away a ton of games, we’ve also enlisted some of your favorite streamers to showcase them and tell you more about Twitch Prime! Here’s who’s lined up to show you all the things:
As if that wasn’t enough Prime Day goodness, we’ve got even more good news. Starting July 2, Prime Members can sign up for Music Unlimited and stream millions of songs ad-free for only $0.99 for 4 months.
For Prime Day 2018, Twitch is offering the biggest discount in our history: 50% off the entire store! But only if you’re a Prime member. Join today to take advantage of this steal. Simply “clip coupon” at checkout. Applies to 1 item per order. No limit per customer so shop until you bleedpurple. While supplies last. Offer valid 7/3–7/17.
Twitch Prime is teaming up with PUBG and deadmau5 for a special Unboxing Prime Day event on July 13th, featuring a PUBG Squad Showdown with popular streamers Shroud, Dr DisRespect, Anne Munition, and more. deadmau5 will be performing his new single Monophobia Ft Rob Swire. Plus new music from Mau5ville Vol 1.
Head over to www.twitch.tv/playBATTLEGROUNDS starting at 11AM PT on July 13th to watch the PUBG Squad Showdown — An Unboxing Prime Day Event featuring deadmau5.
Expect a day full of entertainment, including:
· Live performances from deadmau5 featuring new music.
· Reveal of exclusive PUBG in-game content for Twitch Prime members.
· Action-packed PUBG battles between squads of celebrities and top streamers.
· Huge giveaways and online participation for viewers at home.
The streamers that will be participating at the event are:
Continue the Prime Day celebration with the following offers and info:
Free Games with Prime
From July 2nd through July 18th, Twitch Prime members can get a new game every day in celebration of Prime Day. Just head on over here to claim your games! Check out the full list of games that will be available this month here.
Twitch Merchandise Sale
It pays to be Prime! For Prime Day 2018, Twitch is offering the biggest discount in their history: 50% off the entire store, but only if you’re a Prime member. Join today to take advantage of this steal. Simply “clip coupon” at checkout. Applies to 1 item per order. No limit per customer so shop until you bleedpurple. While supplies last. Offer valid 7/3–7/17.Visit www.amazon.com/twitchmerch.
Now Open: deadmau5 Merchandise Store
deadmau5 fans can now purchase merchandise from the official deadmau5 Amazon storefront! Check it out at by clicking here.
Build the Ultimate PC with Ballistix, Crucial, and more
Want the highest-performing PC so that you can win that chicken dinner in PUBG? Ballistix, Crucial, Cooler Master, Nvidia, and others got you covered. Buy the same machines that the PUBG Showdown streamers will be playing on by heading over to this link.
Twitch Prime is a premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a Prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.
Thousands of Twitch streamers and fans will combine their powers to help create the best TwitchCon yet, but it wouldn’t be the same without you. If you’re looking for the real-life Twitch experience, you’ll find it with live esports, streamer meet and greets, GDQ Express, and so much more. If you’re looking to grow your own channel, come meet up with other streamers, boost your skills with a workshop, or team up with an artist to make your channel shine.
Whatever you’re into, it’s all going down in San Jose, California from October 26–28. Get your tickets here.
I’m ready! Tell me more.
Tickets work just bit differently this year, but the good news is everything’s easier. Let’s start from the top.
Once again, we’re offering both 3-day passes and single-day passes for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Come hang out as long as you’d like, but remember, only 3-day and Friday passes get you into our annual TwitchCon party, which we’ll talk about soon. Here’s the full slate of options:
If you’re a developer, we’d love for you to join us at our second annual Developer Day at TwitchCon. Last year we hosted sessions about the New Twitch API, building businesses with extensions, the benefits of using Twitch Prime, and tons more. Learn all about the event and request a ticket here.
Last but certainly not least: this year, as we count down to TwitchCon, we’ll do so with the help of 15 first-ever TwitchCon Ambassadors. These Partners demonstrate the amazing variety of creators and content on Twitch, and we’re sharing their stories (and streams) with all of you every week until TwitchCon begins on October 26. All the Ambassadors will be at the show, so grab your tickets and swing by their meet and greets to say hello.
If you have any other questions about tickets, drop us a line here. See you in San Jose!
Developers, are you coming to TwitchCon? Join us for our second annual Developer Day, a one-day event on Thursday, October 25 serving as the official kick-off event for TwitchCon 2018.
Developer Day brings together our community of industry leaders and developers from around the world to share best practices on building interactive, shared real-time experiences on Twitch through game integrations, Extensions, the Twitch API, and more. We’re finalizing sessions and speakers for the day, and we’ll update the Developer Day website when the schedule is complete. In the meantime, see our recap from last year’s event and be sure to join the Twitch Developer community at dev.twitch.tv and follow @TwitchDev on Twitter for news and updates.
Ready to join us? Request a ticket via our TwitchCon Developer Day page. If you are attending TwitchCon, please provide your confirmation number to link your TwitchCon ticket with your Developer Day ticket. If you aren’t attending TwitchCon, no problem — you are welcome to attend the Developer Day for free!
If you can’t attend, you can watch Developer Day sessions on twitch.tv/TwitchDev. Following the event, we’ll upload VODs of every presentation as well.
Starting July 12, Twitch Prime members can get exclusive Warframe content in celebration of the lead up to Prime Day, which begins at 12PM PT on July 16 and runs through July 17. Instantly unlock an exclusive new Skin for your Liset Landing Craft and a reusable Color Palette to expand your levels of customization.
To take advantage of this offer on PC, PS4, or Xbox One, starting on July 12th, link your Warframe and Twitch accounts here. If you’re not a Twitch Prime member, you can sign up for a free trial here.
Stay tuned for more exciting Warframe content for Twitch Prime members all year!
What is Twitch Prime?
Twitch Prime is a premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a Prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.
The new Twitch API has been around for about ten months now. Since the initial launch, we have added thirteen new endpoints and four webhooks, as documented in the API reference. Several types of developers build on the API including indie game developers, large studios, hobbyists, streamer tools developers, and enterprise developers. With such a variety of developers, we also recognize a wide variety of priorities.
When we consider new functionality and support for new use cases, we apply our API core tenets to all potential API features — simplicity, consistency, reliability, and transparency as defined during the launch. Enforcing these principles correctly is a delicate exercise and sometimes takes longer than expected. As such, we ask that you to bear with us if it appears at times that our updates are not moving faster than preferred.
For simplicity and consistency, we make sure that each API data model, security, and pagination mechanism matches the rest of the API. We are also adding simple subscription management APIs to Websub, which will give more insights and flexibility to webhooks consumers.
For reliability (and security) while traffic is ever-increasing for Twitch, we are constantly tuning our API and webhooks stack, and regularly re-architect different parts of our systems to make them more fault tolerant.
For the sake of transparency, we are due for updates this summer on our API roadmap. Here are a few endpoints and webhooks we will work on in the next two quarters or so:
Websub subscription management APIs Programmatically see which webhook subscriptions are currently active
Emotes Get whitelisted emotes as well as emotes from different partners
Drops campaign management Programmatically manage your campaigns and items
Chatters See which viewers are chatting in a room
Extensions Analytics Analyze report data for your extensions based on time ranges and report types
Mod analytics Get reports on moderation analytics reports
Chat blocks Programmatically manage authed users’ blocked list
Chat mods Moderation management
Subscriptions Access subscription information of authed users (i.e. get subs of a user)
For the longer-term feature list, we want to hear from you as always. Let us know which important use cases are not currently officially supported by the new Twitch API through the new API feature request form so that we can prioritize accordingly. If you ever feel that an endpoint, webhook, or feature you’ve been expecting is not on our radar, please let us know. This form enables us to gather your feedback in a standardized and centralized way, which means that all developer voices will be recorded, sorted, and triaged in a single, consistent repository.
Additionally, for APIs related to Extensions, we are using the RFC process outlined in this blog post for feedback before product releases. Other APIs may adopt this process in the future.
With the rise of online gaming platforms and livestreaming, it has become easier than ever for friends and fans to connect through the power of online gaming. When it comes to building these online infrastructures, there are few developers more experienced than GameSparks. This UK and Irish founded company focuses on simplifying online services so developers, streamers, and players can focus on what’s most important: the games.
GameSparks got their start in mobile development back in 2013, helping developers create cross-platform social functions like leaderboards and messaging services for their games. After officially unveiling their platform at Gamescom 2013, they were named one of the “100 Companies Most Likely To Change The Industry” by Develop Magazine. After forming partnerships with the PlayStation Network and others, in 2016, they branched out even more and hosted a 12-hour game jam called SparksJam in support of the Ireland indie gaming scene.
GameSparks continued to grow, and earlier this year was acquired by Amazon Web Services where its team is working with Twitch to build extensions that simplify streamer-viewer engagement. “We’re helping game developers find new and innovative ways to deliver long lasting and engaging entertainment to players, streamers, and their viewers on Twitch,” said Shuichi Sekino, Senior Product Manager at GameSparks.
With all these partnerships and accolades, you might be asking yourself what exactly the GameSparks platform is. Sekino describes their product as “a service that provides customizable backend features and a serverless compute service to help developers maximize player engagement and generate more revenue from games.”
Put more simply, they provide the framework for a game’s online features so that the developers can concentrate on giving their players the best gameplay experience possible.
Leaderboard Extension
With the rise of Twitch streaming and Twitch extensions, GameSparks found a new way to put their speciality to use. They saw an opportunity to create leaderboards and online services for Twitch streamers much like the ones they already created for games.
“Twitch helps gamers find new ways to enjoy games,” said Sekino. “By using GameSparks, game developers can now directly harness the Twitch platform to build ‘Twitchful’ games that not only help streamers to engage and retain subscribers, but also transform them from viewers, to acquired players.”
One opportunity they saw was the Leaderboard extension, which they say is one of the simplest yet most useful means of social interaction in gaming. “For the leaderboard extension in particular, with any competitive sport or game, a key indicator for a player’s success is their standing in the game,” said Sekino. “Our goal was to make it easy for any game to deliver this information through an extension, so streamers of these games can more closely engage with their audiences.”
Their leaderboard extension quickly generated some exciting feedback from users who were enjoying the added interactivity with their viewers. “The ability to share more aspects of the game experience with viewers was recognized as a great tool to drive deeper engagement with audiences. These experiences provide viewers with more context for gameplay, enabling streamers to tell more exciting stories,“ said Sekino. “With the leaderboard extension, streamers saw the opportunity to set “goals” for their session, for example, climb 10 places in the leaderboard, and allow audiences to cheer for them as their progress updated dynamically.”
The Future of GameSparks
During Twitchcon Developer Day 2017, Sekino demoed a concept for an extension called MatchBroker built on the GameSparks platform. This extension would let streamers quickly and easily setup gaming sessions with their viewers, doing all the setup for them so they can enjoy the game.
With extensions like MatchBroker GameSparks hopes to go beyond the “passive-viewing” experience and break down the barriers between streamers and their viewers.
“Very soon you’ll see more interactive implementations to help directly create even more engaging experiences for viewers, and turn them into players,” said Sekino. “Our matchmaking feature can be used to enable streamers to organize, create and initiate game sessions with members of their audience. With this feature, viewers would be able to jump in a game session with their favourite streamers with the click on a button in Twitch.”
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To learn more about GameSparks, check out their website.
$300,000, the biggest names on Twitch, PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, and YOU. Register now to compete in Broadcaster Royale, a game-changing tournament series coming only to Twitch.
The two-season global event starts on July 21 and will feature hundreds of your favorite Twitch streamers competing against thousands of community players, vying for a $300,000 prize pool — and one of them can be you! Registration closes at 11:59PM PDT on July 16, so sign up now!
Following the special Unboxing Prime Day event today (featuring a PUBG Squad Showdown with popular streamers Shroud, DrDisRespectLIVE and AnneMunition), join more of your favorite Twitch streamers to kick off Broadcaster Royale Season 1 on July 21. Twitch Partners and Affiliates as well as selected members of the general public will compete in teams of two in regional qualifiers for North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Oceania.
As the first event of its kind, Broadcaster Royale isn’t just bucking the trend of “pros only” competitions; we’re knocking it down with a cast-iron pan. Whether you’re a superstar streamer or even a newcomer who’s never gone live before, if you love competing in PUBG and have the skills to match, this is the competition for you. Prove that you’re a skilled tactician who’s quick on the draw, and set the record straight by throwing down the gauntlet and silencing any and all critics. Not only that, but you’ll also get access to awesome new in-game items — some of which are free to Twitch Prime members! (More details on this coming soon!)
Ready to get started? Fantastic! Here are some important details you’ll need to know: Season 1 of Broadcaster Royale will consist of two paths for competitors: Invitational & Open. Don’t worry, both paths ultimately lead to the same place, so you’ll get your shot to topple the giants… Make it count.
What You Need to Know
All competitors must stream their POV via Twitch. Not streaming will result in disqualification.
Team Size: 2. Both players must register together
Regions: Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania*, & South America*
You must compete in one of the two qualifiers (schedule below). If your team places in one of the top spots, you advance to the Regional Finals. Regional champions move on to the Live Finals.
Registration closes on July 16th at 11:59 PDT.
For more information on the tournament structure and rules, click here.
Schedule
July 6 — Registration Open
July 16 — Registration Closes
July 21 — Invitational Qualifier #1
July 22 — Open Qualifier #1
August 4 — Invitational Qualifier #2
August 5 — Open Qualifier #2
August 11 — Invitational Regional Final
August 12 — Open Regional Final
August 31 — Grand Finals Day 1
September 1 — Grand Finals Day 2
September 2 — Grand Finals Day 3
*South America will only have an Invitational Path. Oceania will only have an Open Path. All other regions will have both an Open & Invitational Path.
PUBG and Twitch Prime are back together again! We’re teaming up to bring PC players an exclusive deadmau5 crate; available for a limited time only during Prime Day on July 16th, starting at 12:00PM PT through July 17th at 11:59PM PT!
Only Twitch Prime members can get this exclusive crate.
The deadmau5 crate contains 7 items to customize your PUBG character:
The Mau5 Hat
Tee-5hirt
Mau5hoes
5porty Jacket
5lick Blazer
Black Jean5
Blue Jean5
Mark your calendars, because it’s only available for a limited time, and only available for Twitch Prime members.
Stay tuned for more Twitch Prime and PUBG surprises!
It pays to be Prime! For Prime Day 2018, Twitch is offering the biggest discount in their history: 50% off the entire store, but only if you’re a Prime member. Join today to take advantage of this steal. Simply “clip coupon” at checkout. Applies to 1 item per order. No limit per customer so shop until you bleedpurple. While supplies last. Offer valid 7/3–7/17.Visit www.amazon.com/twitchmerch.
Now Open: Deadmau5 Merchandise Store
Deadmau5 fans can now purchase merchandise from the official Deadmau5 Amazon storefront! Check it out at by clicking here.
Build the Ultimate PC with Ballistix, Crucial, and more
Want the highest-performing PC so that you can win that chicken dinner in PUBG? Ballistix, Crucial, Cooler Master, Nvidia, and others got you covered. Buy the same machines that the PUBG Squad Showdown streamers are playing on by heading over to this link.
Outlast the Competition with Razer
From Krakens to DeathAdders, push technology to the limit in your push for gaming supremacy with Razer hardware! Click here to check out all the Razer goodness!
Watch the Broadcaster Royale on Twitch, Presented by Twitch Prime
Tune in on July 21st for the kick off of Twitch’s Broadcaster Royale, a new PUBG tournament, featuring your favorite streamers from the PUBG Squad Showdown going head to head with top players from the community! For more info, head over here.
Would you like even MORE games? Why wouldn’t you? All you have to do is be a Twitch Prime member and you can get your hands on even more games and guess what? They’re yours to keep… forever. Make sure to check back every day, as the selection will be constantly changing.
Tyranny: July 16th — July 18th Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Tyranny is a narrative focused RPG that will change based on the decisions you make while playing. You will make allies, choose sides and fight for your own brand of justice in an incredibly immersive world.
Broken Age: July 17th — July 31st A brilliant point-and-click adventure game from the brilliant minds at Double Fine Productions. Broken Age tells the story of two teenagers, each hoping to break the cycle in their lives and go against the traditions they were born into.
The Framed Collection: July 18th — July 31st Venture into an animated comic book and rearrange the panels to change the outcome of your story. Created as a series of visual puzzles, they will require imagination and logic to move each panel to change the narrative in your favor.
Serial Cleaner: July 18th — July 31st Play as a cleaner for the mob in the 1970’s stealth/action game. As the cleaner, it’s up to you to make sure there’s nothing left for the cops to find that can be used as evidence. If you love gory action games, now you get to play as the guy that cleans that up!
Check out the games on Twitch!
Since we’re giving away a ton of games, we’ve also enlisted some of your favorite streamers to showcase them and tell you more about Twitch Prime! Here’s who’s lined up to show you all the things:
As if that wasn’t enough Prime Day goodness, we’ve got even more good news. Starting July 2, Prime Members can sign up for Music Unlimited and stream millions of songs ad-free for only $0.99 for 4 months.
For Prime Day 2018, Twitch is offering the biggest discount in our history: 50% off the entire store! But only if you’re a Prime member. Join today to take advantage of this steal. Simply “clip coupon” at checkout. Applies to 1 item per order. No limit per customer so shop until you bleedpurple. While supplies last. Offer valid 7/3–7/17.
Twitch Prime is a new premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, ad-free viewing on Twitch, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a Prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.
Check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits in: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. You can try it for free for 30 days right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
Prime Now One and two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items from Amazon and local stores. Check out Prime Now.
Muxy + Twitch Extensions are a perfect combo. They specialize in extensions that encourage viewer involvement, like their Community Predictions Extensions that let thousands of viewers compete for a top spot on the Game Awards prediction leaderboard.
The Cheer Cup. The Feels Meter. The Community Predictions Leaderboard. You may have seen or even used all of these extensions, but did you know they all come from the same developer? Muxy, an Austin-based developer, has developed several Twitch Extensions to help streamers not only enhance their content but also earn a living fulfilling their passion.
In their eight years together, the developers at Muxy have worked on fitness trackers, educational games, and even projects with the Gates Foundation. When they got a look at what Twitch had planned for extensions, they knew it was something they were passionate about and immediately joined the beta. “Extensions would be a fundamental shift in the way viewers interact with a broadcast and allow distinctly new ways to connect with live content,” said CEO Peter Bonnani. “It was obvious they wanted to build the future, and we wanted to build that future with them.”
After successfully launching the Cheer Cup for the extensions beta, Muxy has been making moves, working on extensions for streamers as well as Twitch partners like the NBA G-League. “In terms of live video, no other platform currently offers the amount of customization that Twitch does when developing interactive experiences,” Bonanni said.
Over the years, Muxy has partnered with us for projects of all kinds, including Business Development initiatives and content from the Twitch Studios team. “The first time I worked with Muxy, I was very impressed at their professionalism and dedication to making an amazing product,” said Justin Im, our Strategic Partnerships Manager for Ecosystem Developers. “There were several instances where they were able to apply their knowledge of the streaming space and come up with a unique concept for the Extension work.”
Lucky for us, Muxy seem to dig the partnership as well, leading to a number of great collaborations. “Twitch has been listening and adapting,” said Bonanni. “We haven’t stuck around just because Twitch is one of the biggest players, but also because they genuinely want to improve the relationship with developers.”
The Game Awards: A New Kind of Engagement
For the 2017 Game Awards, a yearly show celebrating the best achievements in video games, Twitch reached out to several developers to create new Extensions to enhance the massively popular livestream. Once again, Muxy answered the call.
The goal was to create an extension that let viewers truly engage with the event — a challenge Muxy embraced. “Interactive video technology is the next paradigm shift for watching things,” says Jared Steffes, COO at Muxy. “Right now, when we watch a screen, we usually have another device we’re messing with. Ideally, we want to integrate the interactive experience right into the screen. We just need to figure out the best UI and UX.”
Muxy’s unique understanding of both Twitch and extensions helped them create the perfect tool for the Game Awards live show, one that engaged viewers without distracting from the show. “Quite simply, extensions allow you to click on the stream,” Bonanni said. “We could have had viewers type things into chat, but that spams up chat and makes it unusable. The ability for viewers to reach out and touch the extension make it far more engaging than a chat-based integration.”
The result was the Community Predictions Extension. As the name suggests, this extension let viewers predict which games would win awards during the live show. Additionally, the viewer’s votes would let them join a streamer’s “Team” and flex their prediction chops on a global leaderboard. “People got completely wrapped up in the prediction tool and which awards were coming up,” Bonanni said. “The extension gave the awards some context. People felt like they were involved.”
Muxy wanted every viewer to feel like their vote counted, so the extension was balanced by percentage to ensure streams of all size had a shot at winning. “The overall winner was a small streamer in Brazil with about 100 people,” Bonanni said. “It was really cool to be in their channel and see the flow of comments coming in.”
From a Few Channels to Thousands Without a Hitch
As if all that wasn’t impressive enough, get this: Muxy were able to create the Game Awards Extension in just 14 days. “We hit the court and made it happen,” Bonanni said. He credits the Muxy Extension Development (MED) Kit for enabling them to work so quickly. “The quick starts and scaffolding were already there.”
Muxy also credits a great working relationship with Twitch for helping them reach the finish line with a successful, high-profile extension.
“We’re a smaller ship. Give us feedback and we’ll tell you yes or no,” Bonanni said. Normally, Muxy would build a tool, throw it out into the community and tweak based on feedback from broadcasters. With the Community Predictions Extension, they had the opportunity to collaborate directly with Twitch and the Game Awards team. “For this project, we got feedback from a big partner who we really respect,” Bonanni said. “They got excited, which got us excited. They shared our vision.”
Of course, there were some concerns about deploying their fresh extension out to tens of thousands of channels and millions of viewers. Muxy was ready. “Our back-end framework and development kit were built with those kind of numbers in mind,” Bonanni said. And it worked. During the event, the extension worked smoothly, even with a huge volume of users.
“There were several instances where the extension ran into server load issues due to high viewership,” said Justin Im. “But because of Muxy’s expertise they were able to triage the issue on site.”
“The Number Just Kept Growing”
By the end of the show, the Community Predictions Extension had engaged nearly 70 percent of registered Twitch viewers, making it a smash success for Muxy, the Game Awards, and the co-streamers. “Multiple interactions had to occur,” Bonanni said. “People had to find this thing, go in and sign up, and vote. And engagement was still 70 percent, which is insane.”
For the three-hour run of the Game Awards, Twitch and Muxy averaged 18,500 requests per second, peaking at 34,500 requests at one point in the broadcast. “That’s not quite the level we were expecting,” Bonanni said. “We heard stories of people going into libraries and Subway restaurants just so they could use it.” A total of 456 voting teams participated, and contributed 706,884 predictions.
What was as impressive as the engagement with the extension was the retention. If a Twitch broadcaster has 200 viewers over a period of time, they’re generally not the same 200 viewers for that whole time. There’s churn. “For this extension, the number just kept growing,” Bonanni said. “People were engaged and wanted to see the results.”
The end result was a successful stream for Twitch, bigger viewership for the streamers, and a triumphant large scale launch for Muxy’s application. “We’ve been designing for a Twitch-sized load the whole time with our extensions. And it was great to see,” Bonanni said. That’s what we call a win-win-win!
The Future for Developers at Twitch
Muxy sees a bright future for their relations with Twitch, and hope to see other developers get involved through events like Developer Day. “Having a Developer Day is fantastic,” Bonanni said. “The fact that they’ve published an Extension roadmap, Request for Comments, talked about new features — mobile support, multiple extensions at once, Bits monetization in extensions — it’s great. I think this will really open up a ton of business models for developers.”
Bonanni also sees more possibilities for developers to become profitable making extensions at Twitch, not just prolific. “We’re showing the power of what extensions can do for a publisher’s content,” he said. “I see a lot of demand for bespoke extensions in the future.”
Justin Im agrees. “Developers will get to create new things in a whole new development environment, innovative things that no one has ever seen,” he said. “Developers who excel at extension creation exhibit knowledge of the streaming industry. Technical expertise is always helpful, but the most innovative ideas are sometimes the most simple. As extensions grow, early adopters will be in a very strong position for success. New developers will stretch what we used to think was possible.”
Battling 99 other players can be a lot of work. So starting today, Twitch Prime members will be able to pamper themselves with an exclusive PUBG Spa Day crate for the PC version of PUBG, featuring two sets of outfits that you can show off to other players. #treatyoself.
Twitch Prime is a premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a Prime member. See all active Twitch Prime offers here.
Developers can now build and manage Bits-in-Extensions with Self-Serve Product Catalogs in the Twitch Developer Rig
Back in April, we previewed the Bits in Extensions program with a small group of developers. The launch of this program marked a unique opportunity for developers to monetize viewer passion in a broadcaster’s stream. We’re committed to continuously improve this experience for developers and today we announce a few major milestones that continue our vision of helping developers and streamers monetize on Twitch.
What are Bits-in-Extensions?
First a quick recap. Bits are a digital good that viewers can buy on Twitch and then place in Chat to virtually “cheer” and show support for their favorite streamers. Extensions are overlays on the video screen or panels that allow streamers and viewers to engage in a whole new way through community tools, leader boards or in-game viewer participation experiences. Bits-in-Extensions lets developers integrate Bits (typically available in Chat) with the power of Extensions to monetize immersive experiences during a broadcaster’s live stream.
With Bits-in-Extensions, streamers have more ways to create new content that engages their viewers, while generating revenue. At the same time, developers receive an incentive to build and maintain new extensions for streamers through the Bits-in-Extensions revenue share program. This is a big win for both streamers and developers.
Today, we’re making Bits-in-Extensions widely available in Beta so that more developers can start creating unique experiences for channels and their viewers.
If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at some existing Bits-in-Extensions examples in the Extensions Manager.
But what’s new, Twitch?
Self-Serve Product Catalog
As we make Bits-in-Extensions available for more developers and streamers to experiment with, we’ve released a series of products to help build and manage product portfolios. For instance, on July 2, we soft-launched the Self-Serve Product Catalog in the Developer Rig for managing Bits-in-Extensions products. Self-Serve lets developers create, iterate and manage their own product portfolio without having to rely on Twitch Integration Success Engineers (ISEs) to manually create product SKUs. With Self-Serve, developers will be able to create, update, and remove SKUs and delete entire catalogs saving days in their build and iterate process.
Our aim is to put the power of building and iteration in the hands of developers so that they can ship the experiences broadcasters want to integrate into their streams more quickly.
Here’s how to get started with Bits-in-Extensions:
1. Set up the Developer Rig to run your Extension following the Getting Started in Online Mode steps on the rig’s readme file. The following steps will register SKUs for the current Extension on the rig.
2. Login with your Twitch dev account on the rig using the button located on the top right. Authorize access when prompted.
3. Select the “Manage Bits Products” tab from the navigation bar where you’ll find the following screen with all of your existing Bit product SKUs listed
4. Fill in the details.
Here’s a brief description of non self-explanatory fields. SKU: A unique identifier for each developer-created product. In Development: When set to “Yes” this product won’t be available on released Extensions. Changing its value will make your product available on production. Broadcast: When set to “Yes”, PubSub will trigger a broadcast when a Bits transactions has been executed with that particular product. Deprecate: Deprecated products will never be returned when getting the product list of your Extension.
5. Click “Save All” and you are done!
Developer Rig Local Mode and Run List
On July 6, we announced the release of the Local Mode feature in the Developer Rig. Our objective is to streamline the on-boarding process so that developers can start building Twitch Extensions right away. Like, right now. Local Mode ships with Mock APIs and PubSub that can be used for building Extensions as they might appear in a real world scenario. Local Mode is the best way for developers to prototype their Extensions before deploying it to broadcasters.
Today, we’re also announcing that the Developer Rig now ships with a built-in Run List. Run List provides the ability to mock responses from the Twitch Extensions helper library. This allows developers to create user-defined payloads for testing events such as `onContext` and `onAuthorized`.
Help Us Test Bits-in-Extensions
Let us know what you think about Bits-in-Extensions, Self Serve and Local Mode. Our goal is to build a robust community of Extensions developers, and to provide you with the tools you need to participate and monetize on Twitch.
As always, we’d love to hear from you and help with any questions.
Whew… how about all those July Prime Day games huh? Well, just because Prime Day has come and gone doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Starting August 1st we some pretty awesome games for everyone to play… and guess what? They’re yours for FREE with your Twitch Prime membership!
● Jotun: Valhalla Edition Jotun is a beautifully illustrated action-exploration game themed around Norse mythology. You play as the viking warrior Thora who must prove herself to the Gods after dying an inglorious death. Only then will she be allowed to enter Valhalla.
● Death Squared Put your teamwork (and friendships) to the test as you try and solve puzzles in this cooperative puzzle game! Each player must take control of a robot and guide it to it’s color-coded goal. If only it were that easy…
● Antihero A turn-based strategy game where you must use your wits to out-steal and outsmart your opponents in a chaotically paced multiplayer game. Get ready to assassinate, blackmail and bribe your way to victory!
● Wizardry Bundle Play through Wizardry 6, 7, and 8, and bring together the 3 artifacts needed to pursue godhood in the world of Dominus. Once you have assembled all 3 artifacts you must venture forth to Ascension Peak where true terror awaits.
● Steamworld Dig A platforming mining adventure, highly influenced by “metroidvania” style games. Play as Rusty as you dig your way through the earth and collect riches along the way. Just beware of the ominous threat that lurks below…
What is Twitch Prime?
Twitch Prime is a new premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, ad-free viewing on Twitch, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.
Check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits in: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. You can try it for free for 30 days right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
Prime Now One and two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items from Amazon and local stores. Check out Prime Now.
RuneScape, the epic MMO adventure 17-years in the making has teamed up with Twitch Prime to offer you FREE access to a twisted tale of heroes and dragons. Starting July 26th, Twitch Prime members will have access to more skills, more quests, more adventure, PLUS items that’ll take you far.
The Twitch Prime Umbral pack offers you access to the whole RuneScape world plus:
- 1 month FREE membership in RuneScape & Old School RuneScape
- Exclusive Umbral Armour
- Exclusive Flame Blade Weapon
- Exclusive Umbral Crassian Companion Pet
- 2 Umbral Chests (guaranteed super-rare prize)
- 15 Treasure Hunter Keys
- 200 RuneCoins
- PLUS: Early access to Purple Player Skin in Old School RuneScape
Twitch Prime is a premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a Prime member. See all active Twitch Prime offers here.
Every day we’re inspired by the innovation and creativity of our community. It’s what drives us to help all streamers improve, growing their communities, content, and earnings. We know this is hard work, but figuring out how to do it better shouldn’t be.
Today, we’re excited to introduceTwitch Creator Camp — The site where streamers can get the information they need to grow and improve their streams, all in one place.
Whether you’re getting ready to stream for the first time or want to try a new strategy on an already successful channel, Twitch Creator Camp has something for you. And who better to teach you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Twitch than the Partners who have achieved greatness themselves? So we’ve asked some successful Partners to share tips and advice for whatever step of your streaming journey you’re on. Creator Camp will also host live sessions with Partners to go even deeper into the topics that matter most to you. You’ll even be able to ask questions live.
This is just the beginning for Twitch Creator Camp. In the days and months ahead, we will continue to listen to your ideas and build educational content based on your feedback.
There are tons of ways to use Twitch extensions to get more involved than ever with your audience or favorite streamer. But the work done by Scavengers Studio goes to show how immersive extensions can really be now that game developers are starting to put streaming and social gameplay at the forefront of their game design.
Scavengers Studio was formed by a number of industry veterans eager to build a game around the idea that both playing and streaming games should be a social experience. That very philosophy is what powers the Montreal-based team’s debut game, Darwin Project, and what led the studio to develop an extension that gives viewers a way to directly influence the action as it unfolds live on stream.
“Our creative vision is that viewers should be just as involved in the game experience as the players,” said Simon Darveau, Creative Director at Scavengers Studio. “We believe that by merging a video game with a streaming platform, we can create a new generation of interaction that has the potential to redefine entertainment.”
Darwin Project is a fresh spin on the increasingly competitive Battle Royale genre. In it, 10 players duke it out in an ever-shrinking arena, putting their skills to the test all in a bid to be the last person standing. Meanwhile, an all-seeing 11th player assumes the role of Show Director and takes charge of keeping the combatants on their toes, using their powers to dish out game-altering abilities and, sometimes, sudden obstacles.
That alone makes Darwin Project an exciting game to both play and watch, but Scavengers has taken that social gameplay one step further by creating an extension that meshes seamlessly with the core Darwin Project experience, giving viewers on Twitch an actual say in how each match unfolds.
Right now, Twitch viewers that pick up the Spectator Interaction Extension can pop into a stream for Darwin Project and, when it comes time for the Show Director to make a decision, vote on which players or zones will be the target of those different abilities. For Scavengers, that system really allows them to create a sense of unity between viewers and Twitch streamers by giving the audience the power to turn the tide of a battle, helping or hindering other players along the way.
“So far, the response is overwhelmingly positive. There is a huge wow factor associated with seeing the vote interface appear for the first time, and it’s pretty great at hyping the chat. But more importantly, we’ve seen a sort of social meta game organically emerge in some streamer-focused matches,” Darveau said. “This is just the beginning. We’re thinking about ways to push this feature much further to take viewers even deeper into the game experience.”
With the power placed directly in the hands of viewers, Darwin Project streamers are many times at the mercy of their audience, for better or worse, but always in a way that makes for a more engaging and all-around entertaining stream. This was the case in the clip below where Darwin Project players Forsen and Sodapoppin try to talk the audience into strategically starting a Manhunt on another player, only for the viewers to cast their votes and launch the bounty on Forsen himself.
On the surface, the Spectator Interaction Extension works to add an overlay to the stream window, much like many other HTML5-based extensions on Twitch. Scavengers wanted viewers to feel like they were directly involved in the action as it unfolds, and the look of the extension itself speaks to those efforts. The team used CSS to create a sleek overlay that blends right in to the UI of Darwin Project itself, while being sure to make it accessible to as many Twitch viewers as possible by designing an interface that adapts to different devices and stream window sizes. Behind the scenes, Scavengers has created a C#-powered way for streamers running Darwin Project to link up to Twitch itself, creating a bridge between the two.
“We developed the back-end in C#, Asp.net core. It is directly connected to the database of player profiles and ensures a secured connection with the game server,” said Michaël Catanzariti, Online Architect at Scavengers. “Each streamer connects to Twitch in-game, and when a Show Director launches a vote, the server sends the Twitch identity of all streamers in the match to the back-end. The vote interface is then displayed for each viewer, and once completed, the vote results follow the same route in reverse to make their way in game in the form of a Nuke, Heal, Manhunt, etc.”
That process means that viewers are able to jump right into a Darwin Project stream on Twitch and cast their votes, with no actual setup required on the viewer’s side.
As the developer of both Darwin Project and its Spectator Interaction Extension, the Scavengers team has a unique perspective about the steps game and extension developers alike need take when building social gameplay and some of the unique challenges they’ll need to keep in mind as well.
“I think that for something like our Spectator Interactions to really make sense, the whole game needs to be designed from the ground up around it. One of the main challenges right now is to make players and viewers understand why it makes sense for viewers to interact. There is a lot of R&D needed, and development agility is essential,” Darveau said. “But if you are as excited as I am by this idea, go all in! There is a real opportunity here to redefine the future of entertainment.”
Calling all heroes! This summer, Blizzard Entertainment is partnering with Twitch and Amazon to bring you a series of exciting in-game rewards.
Starting today, all Twitch Prime members can claim two Wrecking Ball Loot Boxes in Overwatch*. Available through September 3, 2018, these promotional Loot Boxes contain random items for the newest Overwatch hero — Wrecking Ball. Twitch Prime members can also claim a Golden Loot Box in September as well as another Golden Loot Box in October.
* Offer only available in participating countries. Must own Overwatch to claim. Loot Boxes do not include seasonal event items. Contents of Loot Boxes are random. Each Blizzard account may only claim one code per promotional item.
Step 1: If you don’t already have a Twitch account, create one here. Step 2: Log in to your Twitch account. Step 3: If you don’t already have a Blizzard account, create onehere. Step 4: Navigate to the Twitch Connections pagein the Settings menu. Step 5: Locate the Blizzard Battle.net section and chose your gameplay region. Step 6: Log in to the Blizzard account you wish to link and click Log in to Blizzard.
(Console Only) Link Your Console and Blizzard Accounts:
Before linking your Twitch and Blizzard accounts, check to see that you’re not logged into any other Blizzard accounts at the same time in the same browser, as this could cause complications. For the best results, complete the process in “private browsing” or “incognito” mode.
How to Claim Your TWITCH PRIME REWARDS Offer Redemption Instructions
Claim Your Twitch Prime Offer:
Step 1: Visit the Overwatch Twitch Prime Rewards page. Step 2:Log in to your Twitch account and authorize. Step 3: Click to claim your loot on Blizzard Account Step 4: Success! You are ready to claim your items in the game.
Claim Your Rewards In-Game:
Step 5: Launch Overwatch on PC, PlayStation 4, or Xbox One. Step 6: Click on the Loot Boxes menu option. Step 7: Locate your loot boxes and open them to see what you unlocked!
Once you claim an Overwatch reward, all future rewards in the campaign will be automatically applied to the same Blizzard account as long as you remain an active Twitch Prime member and cannot be transferred. Be sure that your preferred Blizzard account is connected to your Twitch account at the time of enrolling!
