In what could be explained as somewhat of a phenomenon to some, streaming video games has become extremely popular over the last three to five years. Chalk it up to the popularity of games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2 and others, or just call it a product of the technological age we now live in where video games have become something of a trendy thing to be involved with. However you look at it, gaming is big, really big, and everyone seems to want a piece of the action. Right now Twitch is the front runner for game streaming services, but it is by no means the only outlet for streamers or viewers who love games to go and be passionate about the things they love to play or watch others play. Now YouTube has officially announced they’ll be entering the mix with YouTube Gaming, but how will this affect Twitch?
The most obvious explanation is through users. Whether the users are streamers or the viewers, YouTube Gaming is a service which is almost undoubtedly going to steal some users away from Twitch. It’s inevitable for a number of reasons, but one of them is very likely just for the fact that people love YouTube. It’s a well-known brand for video sharing of all kinds and people love well-known brands. Other reasons could include that there may just be some streamers who are looking to try something new and opt to give it a try just for kicks. Then there’s the possibility that with YouTube Gaming, streamers could stand a chance to get in on the ground floor of something really big, because who knows how large YouTube Gaming will be in even just a few year’s time. Twitch grew to insane heights in just a few years, so it stands to reason that YouTube’s new service could also.
Right now it’s an unknown variable as YouTube hasn’t discussed any monetary details, but YouTube Gaming streamers might even have the potential to make more money with YouTube’s service than with Twitch, and if there’s a possibility for more money, why wouldn’t you change platforms? YouTube Gaming will support 60 frames per second streams as well as 60 frames per second playback, so there’s no worry that viewers will miss out on any of the action during a heated match as things will be snappy and fluid, so long as those people watching have a decent internet connection. YouTube is also going to make things extremely easy for streamers with things like simple link shares for streams, auto conversion of streams into YouTube videos, and more that has yet to be announced, some of those details which may be unveiled at their booth during E3 next week. However things end up for YouTube Gaming, one thing is certain. Twitch will be affected. How exactly is too early to tell immediately, but chances are that nothing too negative will come of it. Twitch has been around long enough and grown large enough of a user base to sustain their service in the wake of emerging competitors, and they now have the backing of Amazon through the acquisition to fund any evolution as time goes on. In the end it’s quite likely that having YouTube Gaming in the running as an alternative to Twitch will simply bring about the much-needed competition that can play at Twitch’s level, and there’s nothing wrong with that as both services would probably thrive from it.