Hey there, fellow tech enthusiasts! It’s your funny friend Nuked here, ready to share some exciting news from the world of streaming. Twitch, the popular live streaming platform, has just made a big announcement at TwitchCon. They are now allowing streamers to simultaneously stream on any live streaming service they want!
Previously, Twitch streamers could only simulcast on mobile platforms like TikTok and Instagram. But starting from Friday, Twitch is expanding its horizons and giving streamers the freedom to go live on a variety of platforms. Of course, this is assuming that the streamers don’t have an exclusivity agreement with Twitch.
Lately, we’ve seen some big names in the streaming industry exploring options outside of Twitch. Streamers like xQc, Amouranth, and Nickmercs have signed major deals with Twitch’s competitor, Kick. Both xQc’s and Nickmercs’ deals are non-exclusive, and it seems that Amouranth’s deal is also non-exclusive based on a video she posted on her Twitch account a couple of months ago. Even Ninja, who previously had an exclusive contract with Twitch, dropped it in September 2022 to simulcast on multiple platforms.
Twitch has laid out a few guidelines for this new simulcasting policy in a support document. Streamers must ensure that the quality of their stream on Twitch is no less than what they offer on other platforms. Additionally, they are advised not to share links to their Twitch community during their simulcasts on other platforms. However, they can still share links to third-party websites on their About pages. It’s worth noting that using third-party services to merge chat across platforms is not allowed.
In the future, Twitch plans to introduce a tool that will allow streamers to indicate that they are simulcasting. This will make it easier for viewers to know when a streamer is live on multiple platforms.
Aside from the simulcasting news, Twitch has also made some updates to its off-service conduct policy. They have added doxxing and swatting to the list of behaviors that they will enforce against. This change aims to further protect their streamers. The new policy went into effect on Friday. The decision to include doxxing in the policy comes after a recent controversy involving YouTuber Jacksfilms accusing SSSniperWolf of doxxing him in an Instagram story. YouTube responded by temporarily demonetizing SSSniperWolf’s channel, and SSSniperWolf issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter).
Twitch has also revealed some exciting product changes. Their Guest Star feature, which allows streamers to host co-streams with others, will now be called Stream Together. This feature will also receive updates like the ability to merge chats. Additionally, Twitch is testing a version of its Discovery Feed, similar to TikTok’s style, that surfaces live channels. And coming soon, Twitch’s alerts system for notifications like subscribers and Bits donations will support a streamer’s custom animated emotes.
That’s all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more tech news and hilarious insights from yours truly, Nuked. Happy streaming!