It has since expanded into a global chat-room for people to simply connect online, gaming or not, competing with the likes of Skype and Zoom. It was originally designed by founders Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy as a way to chat with their fellow gaming friends.

You can get Twitch for iOS and Android, as well as access it on the web.ĭiscord was released online in 2015 as a group hangout software for gamers to connect. If you pay the monthly subscription, you can subscribe to channels you enjoy, which supports the gamers themselves and gives you access to additional benefits like badges, alerts, chatrooms, and ad-free watching. The platform is completely free to sign up to, and while you don’t need an account in order to watch streamers, you’ll need one to create your own livestream or ‘favourite’ creators to find again. Whilst Twitch does focus primarily on streaming video games, you can also find a range of other live broadcasts like music and podcast-style chats. Founded in 2011 by Justin Kan as a spin-off of his initial channel, Twitch gained superstar status as a gaming tool after being sold to Amazon in 2014.Īs of February 2021, Twitch has 2.9 million average viewers at one time and had a total of 9.5 million active streamers in February, making it one of the biggest platforms for gamers and fans alike. Twitch is the most popular live streaming platform around today. If you’re interested in either creating or watching a gaming livestream, check out the best five platforms for it below. Live streaming has grown in popularity as a way for people (predominantly those under 35) to create content and build a community of like-minded followers, much like YouTube influencers and vloggers. On some platforms, you can choose to record your screen and yourself simultaneously. The streamer (the person playing the game and recording it live) can see these and choose to talk back.

People who are viewing are typically able to comment in a chat section and share emojis to express their opinions. In terms of gaming, live streaming is when a user actively records their gameplay for others to watch whilst they’re playing. Live streaming is a type of gaming technology that allows you to watch or create videos that are streaming, or shared, in real-time.

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