YouTube's answer to live-streaming game site Twitch is now live: YouTube Gaming is available in every country in which the top OTT video site operates, Ars Technica reports.
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HikePlays' live stream on Gaming's first day boasted 8,000-plus viewers. (Source: YouTube Gaming) |
The website launched officially on Wednesday, Aug. 26, with live-streamed games previewing across the home page.
The site, developed after Google failed to purchase Twitch -- Amazon swooped in with a $970 million offer instead -- will serve as a "collection point" for all gaming content that is currently on YouTube, in addition to showing live-streamed games.
YouTube Gaming will also be available on Android and iOS devices in the U.S. and the UK, according to PC Mag.
The sheer size of YouTube places it as a serious competitor to Twitch. Additionally, because many of Twitch's users are already using YouTube to archive past gaming recording, the provider has its potential users baked-in already, according to Ars Technica, and the convenience of live-streaming and archiving all in one place may draw them in to YouTube.
Amazon has remained fairly quiet on development around Twitch. The retail giant is exploring ways to further capitalize on its live-streaming component but has made no major announcements around the service in several months. Whether YouTube's entry into the live-streaming games segment will prompt Amazon to be more aggressive with publicizing and innovating around Twitch remains to be seen.
On Wednesday morning, the gaming.youtube.com site was still in pre-launch mode, with a beating, Zelda-esque pixelated heart set above a prompt to sign up for updates. The site was live by afternoon, however.
For more:
- see this Ars Technica article
- see this PC Mag article
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