The
live streaming
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
of
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the
US-based site
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
, before growing to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, China-based sites
Huya Live
Huya Live ( zh, s=虎牙直播, p=Hǔyá Zhíbò) is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is one of the largest of its kind in China, and also operates globally as Nimo TV. Similar to other streaming services like Loco, the site pri ...
,
DouYu
DouYu () is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is the largest of its kind in China with 163.6 million monthly active users in 2019,
more than the 140 million monthly active users of Twitch.
In July 2019 DouYu International Holdin ...
, and
Bilibili
Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its origi ...
, and other services. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO's online streaming service,
HBO Go
HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media p ...
. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.
Both AAA and indie developers have circumvented rising development costs by utilizing the free advertising live streaming provides. Independent titles such as ''
Fall Guys
''Fall Guys'' (formerly known as ''Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'') is a free-to-play platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic. The game involves up to 60 players who control jellybean-like creatures and compete against each other ...
'', ''
Rocket League
''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...
'', and ''
Among Us
''Among Us'' is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. The game was inspired by the party game Mafia and the science fiction horror film '' The Thing''. The game allows ...
'' are examples of games that have experienced a huge increase in player base as a result of streaming.
Esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
have also gained significant traction and attention from the accessibility of live streaming, and streaming has even been used as a method to raise awareness of social issues and money for charity.
Live streaming offers the allure of transforming a hobby of playing a video game into a full career of streaming, but brings with it the risks associated with this added renown, whether they be inside the video game, like stream sniping, or in real life, like stalking and swatting. Additionally, the low bar of entry in terms of technology and audience allows for a wide variety of streamers and games to be broadcast.
Overview
History
Tomoaki Hamatsu (浜津 智明) also known as
Nasubi (なすび, "
Eggplant
Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Mos ...
") is credited as the first video game live streamer due to the fact that he won a PlayStation, a TV, and the video game
Densha de Go!
is a Japanese train simulation game series originally produced by Taito and more recently by Square Enix (who purchased Taito) and Railfan Holdings Co., Ltd. The series started with a 1996 arcade version and was first released in a home versi ...
all through Magazine Sweepstakes during the game show Denpa Shōnen teki Kenshō Seikatsu. (Denpa Shonen Sweepstakes Life) The goal of the game was to win ¥1 million ($6894.50) in sweepstake prizes all whilst being naked and he could only use stuff he won for food, clothing, and entertainment. By November 1998
Nasubi became the first to livestream a video game after winning a
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
along with his TV and the video game. He ended up playing this game for 3 whole days straight before banning himself from it due to it distracting him from his goal.
The popularity of livestreaming video games began with WSBN, a shoutcasting station, video streaming a competitive Starsiege Tribes match via Windows Media Encoder to approximately 50 people in 2001. Own3d, an early esport streaming website based in Austria, operated between 2009 and 2013. It later became popular in the mid-2010s on sites such as Twitch. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO Go and eventually hastened the closure of
Justin.tv
Justin.tv was a website created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt in 2007 to allow anyone to broadcast video online. Justin.tv user accounts were called "channels", like those on YouTube, and users were encouraged to br ...
, which Twitch had originally spun out of. In 2015, YouTube launched YouTube Gaming, a video gaming-oriented sub-site and app that intended to compete with Twitch.
Other notable video-game oriented streaming websites include
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's
Mixer, which shut down in July 2020,
Smashcast.tv
Smashcast was a live streaming platform that materialised after the merger of Azubu and Hitbox in May 2017.
History
Azubu's acquisition of Hitbox was announced in January 2017. At the time, they announced they were "launch a new platform ...
, which was formed after the merging of
Azubu
Azubu was a live streaming esports website. In May 2017, it shut down and was succeeded by Smashcast.
History
Azubu was founded in 2012 when Lars Windhorst noticed that children were using live streaming services to watch others play video ga ...
and
Hitbox.tv
Hitbox was a live-streaming esports video game website launched in October 2013. It was a competitor to Twitch. It was acquired by Azubu, and then became Smashcast.
History
In November 2015 SeedInvest, along with Wargaming and North Base Med ...
, the South Korea-based
afreecaTV
AfreecaTV ( ko, 아프리카TV, short for "Any FREE broadCAsting") () is a P2P technology-based video streaming service. It is now owned and operated by AfreecaTV Co., Ltd. in South Korea after Nowcom's AfreecaTV Co., Ltd and ZettaMedia split in ...
, and many China based sites like Huya Live, DouYu and Bilibili.
In August 2020, China based
video sharing
An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
website and live streaming service Bilibili paid
Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
$113 million for the exclusive rights to broadcast
''League of Legends'' World Championship,
Mid-Season Invitational
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual ''League of Legends'' tournament hosted by Riot Games since 2015. It is the second most important international ''League of Legends'' tournament aside from the World Championship.
In 2015 and 2016, ...
and
''League of Legends'' All Star for three years in China. It was the biggest deal in the video game live streaming market, and made China's video game live streaming market bigger than Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming combined, according to journalist Rod Breslau.
Impact on the video game industry
Live streaming has brought attention to previously obscure video games such as ''
Rocket League
''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...
'', ''
Fall Guys
''Fall Guys'' (formerly known as ''Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'') is a free-to-play platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic. The game involves up to 60 players who control jellybean-like creatures and compete against each other ...
'', and ''
Among Us
''Among Us'' is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. The game was inspired by the party game Mafia and the science fiction horror film '' The Thing''. The game allows ...
''. ''Rocket League'', a vehicular soccer game developed by
Psyonix
Psyonix LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. Founded in 2000 by Dave Hagewood, the company is best known for its 2015 game ''Rocket League''. In May 2019, Psyonix was acquired by Epic Games.
History
Psyonix was founded ...
, sold over 5 million copies after becoming one of the top 5 most-watched games on Twitch when it released in July 2015. The game eventually accumulated over 12 million players and earned itself a Twitch
Rocket League Championship Series
The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is an annual ''Rocket League'' esports tournament series produced by Psyonix, the game's developer. It consists of three online qualification splits in several regions, with teams earning points towar ...
.
In September 2020, ''Rocket League'' abandoned its traditional pricing scheme and became
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
.
This form of live streaming has become a popular form of advertising for video game developers, surpassing traditional mediums such as online magazines and traditional
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* plural for Demo (computer programming)
...
.
Potential consumers are able to experience newly released video games without having to purchase them. Major multiplayer titles benefit from this free advertising, but more linear
point-and-click
Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and ...
titles, such as those from the now defunct
Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
, can suffer if the people watching the gameplay are satisfied without making a purchase.
The rise in large-scale “
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
” video game titles have resulted in increased prices for consumers and the prevalence of free-to-play titles containing
microtransactions
Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...
. Smaller developers have utilized crowdsourcing platforms such as
GoFundMe
GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...
alongside streaming services such as Twitch to advertise their product. In turn, digital storefronts such as
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
have become even more popular with features such as built-in streaming integration and Steam early access facilitating a growth in users. By developing games with live streaming in mind, developers can leverage these features and allocate their budget towards innovative gameplay rather than traditional advertising.
Older titles, such as ''
Super Mario 64
is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' and ''
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', have seen renewed popularity due to
speedrun
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
s, or rapid completions, facilitated by live streaming.
This has been a key component in diversifying live streaming audiences.
Impact on eSports
With the ability for anyone to watch from home on their devices, eSports viewership reached 213 million in 2016 and continues to grow every year.
Popular eSports titles include ''
Call of Duty
''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
'', ''
Counter Strike: Global Offensive'', ''
Dota 2
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...
'', ''
Fortnite
''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to- ...
'', ''
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'', and ''
Overwatch
''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
''. One of the biggest prize pools in eSports was for the ''Dota 2'' tournament,
The International, which totaled a pool of US$25 million in 2017.
Smaller video game communities, such as the ''
Super Smash Bros Melee'' community, have benefited from the visibility they have gained from video game live streaming.
In 2013, several members of the ''
Super Smash Bros Melee'' community live streamed in order to raise money to become the eighth game featured at the prestigious tournament
Evolution Championship Series
The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with Super Battle Opera, contestants ...
and overturn a decision by Nintendo to ban the game from the event.
Social activism
In December 2019, famous streamer,
Dr. Lupo, hosted a 24-hour charity live stream to have all donations and earnings earned during the stream donated to
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The stream managed to raise $2.3 million, with Twitch itself donating $1 million of the total. In 2020, American politician
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
live streamed herself playing the popular game Among Us with other streamers who have large followings in an effort to encourage people to vote in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
.
Profession
Video game livestreaming is an emerging industry, the rise of the industry has allowed many Internet companies to rise while also allowing many grassroots gamers to leap to become big anchors, bringing more employment opportunities for young people. Professional streamers often combine gameplay with highly knowledgeable or
dexterous play and entertaining commentary. They can generate sufficient revenue from viewer
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
s and donations, as well as platform advertisements and sponsorships from eSports organizations. An October 2017 report from SuperData Research estimated that more people subscribed to video game streams and
Let's Play
A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strat ...
videos on YouTube and Twitch than for all of
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
,
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, and
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, combined.
Benefits
As a profession, video game live streaming allows people to play the games they love while supporting their livelihood. As they gain bigger followings by streaming consistently and marketing, streamers are able to take advantage of the tools within most streaming platforms, such as subscriptions, donations, or advertisements, to support themselves. On some live streaming platforms, such as
Douyu
DouYu () is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is the largest of its kind in China with 163.6 million monthly active users in 2019,
more than the 140 million monthly active users of Twitch.
In July 2019 DouYu International Holdin ...
and
Huya Live
Huya Live ( zh, s=虎牙直播, p=Hǔyá Zhíbò) is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is one of the largest of its kind in China, and also operates globally as Nimo TV. Similar to other streaming services like Loco, the site pri ...
, viewers can tip the streamers in the form of virtual gifting. Streamers can also become sponsored, or offer rewards in the form of competitions or games to the viewers in order to promote their channel and increase viewership and monetization. Some competitions offer large money prizes for the winner. A professional Fortine player, Bugha, won 3 million dollars at the
Fortnite World Cup
The Fortnite World Cup was an esports competition based on the video game ''Fortnite''. It look place July 26–28, 2019 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, United States. A total prize pool was available across the various competitio ...
in July 2019. In addition, streams can control their work schedule and their success on their platform can give a strong sense of personal accomplishment.
Video game live streaming appeals to many for the ability to transform a hobby of playing video games into a profitable career of streaming them, in addition to the social benefits of being in a position of renown with a large viewership and semi-celebrity status.
Risks
Streamers run the risk of being victims of
stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
, as is common with other public figures. For example, a teenage viewer showed up uninvited to a streamer's house and requested to stream with him after having saved up for a one-way transcontinental flight.
Another risk to streamers is
swatting, where someone makes a false report to police of serious criminal activity taking place at the streamer's residence, resulting in a raid by police, which is often captured live by the streaming service. Such activity can create serious risk to the streamer, and has even resulted in deaths. In the
2017 Wichita swatting, police officers killed a man named Andrew Finch at his
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
home. Finch was the unintended victim of the swatting after two ''
Call of Duty
''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
'' players on the same team got into a heated argument about a 1.50 bet.
LAPD
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
arrested 25-year-old serial-swatter Tyler Raj Barriss, known online as "SWAuTistic" and "GoredTutor36", in connection with the incident, who was later sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for the offense. In another instance, a streamer by the name Jamie Lynn Greenwood was swatted while playing
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...
. Swatting is a dangerous act of high jinks that can become a serious problem for the people involved.
Stream sniping is a common tactic to gain an advantage in a video game by watching the live stream of an enemy player while playing. Several video game developers have taken measures against stream sniping, and video games such as ''
Rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
'' and ''Fortnite'' now hide the names of popular streamers. In November 2018, live streamer
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
controversially threatened to report a player who he thought had killed him in ''Fortnite'' by stream sniping. While stream sniping happens somewhat rarely for most streamers due to the countermeasures set by the games, as well as tactics set up by the streamers themselves like covering up the in-game map or setting a delay for the stream, there are cases, like for the popular Twitch streamer
Forsen, where stream sniping plays a part in a streamer's entertainment and therefore the streamer allows it.
Streamers also run the risk of
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
issues. These mental health issues can be caused by amount of sleep, time playing video games, and the intensity of the video game being played. Intensity of the video game has proven to be more important regarding sleep issues, which then can affect a streamer's mental health. These mental health related issues can also directly affect a streamer's physical health as well. Streamers that have better mental health also have a lower risk of low sleep quality. Sometimes streamers will take an extended hiatus to improve their mental health.
Entry
Players involved in eSports can get into streaming by using their popularity or by using their honed skills and in-depth game knowledge during their livestream.
People on YouTube or other social media platforms often become streamers as well to interact more with viewers. Other types of people that enter streaming include video game creators and people who write articles or blogs about video games.
To build an audience, experienced streamers recommend that newer streamers stream a popular game because it is more likely to interest viewers.
Popular titles in the mid-2010s include ''League of Legends'', ''Dota 2'', first-person shooters such as ''Counter Strike: Global Offensive'', and card games such as ''
Hearthstone''. Viewers are more interested in players who play and entertain well, offering jokes, pop culture, and current event commentary instead of repetitive gameplay. Streamers also recommend keeping a schedule so viewers know when to watch, self-promoting on social media, and holding giveaway contests to increase followers.
Streaming equipment
Microphones are critical to live streaming because they allow streamers to vocally communicate with their audience.
Webcams are also useful because they allow the audience to see streamers and recognize them.
If using a webcam, many streamers have additional lighting to brighten up their faces when streaming to allow viewers to see them clearly.
An ethernet cable is highly recommended for streamers because it minimizes stuttering while streaming.
Home video game consoles, such as the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
,
Xbox Series X
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, contain built-in streaming and optional camera integration for streamers to use. Streamers using computers use software such as
Open Broadcaster Software
OBS Studio (also Open Broadcaster Software or OBS, for short) is a free, open-source, and cross-platform screencasting and streaming app. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux distributions, and BSD. The OBS Project raises funds on the ...
or
XSplit
XSplit is a live streaming and video-mixing application developed and maintained by SplitmediaLabs. It is mostly used for capturing gameplay for live streaming or video recording purposes. A Steam version was published by Devolver Digital on 12 ...
to upload a livestream to the Twitch servers. For streamers using laptops, many gaming laptops are coming with new graphics cards and better connectivity to help streamers to stream their gaming experiences.
List of video game live streaming websites
Active
The following is a list of sites that primarily focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of eSports competitions, in addition to other types of content.
Defunct
Legal issues
Live streaming of video games has many of the same legal issues that
Let's Play
A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and/or a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strat ...
videos may have. First and foremost, such videos can be considered a copyright violation, though is argued to be protected by
fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests ...
defenses. Streamers with larger audiences can also promote the game before its release by receiving a copy of the game from the developer to play on their platform, which runs the risk of violating ethical business practices if they stand to make a substantial amount of income from this promotion.
Nintendo has generally taken a strong stance compared to other publishers for allowing their games to be streamed or recorded. Initially, they have used
YouTube's Content ID system to register their games such that they can generate ad revenue from streaming videos and Let's Play videos. By about 2014, Nintendo crafted its Nintendo Creators Program, which would allow players providing live streams and Let's Plays of Nintendo games that sign onto the program to receive some monetization of these videos through YouTube. However, in September 2017, Nintendo changed the program specifically preventing affiliates from streaming video of Nintendo games, monetized or not, though non-affiliated accounts, and Let's Plays with commentary, remain unaffected. However, on November 28, 2018, Nintendo announced that the program was shutting down.
The playing of copyrighted music without proper permission may cause archived streams to be removed or muted. Streamers can also be suspended, due to complaints under laws such as the U.S.
Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP) (a group which includes internet service providers (ISP) and other Inter ...
, or automated content matching. More than 10 popular Twitch streamers, including
Félix "xQc" Lengyel and
Zachary "Sneaky" Scuderi, were banned for 24 hours for allegedly playing a song by
Juice WRLD
Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...
in June 2018. Some of the bans were lifted, with the artist's record label
Interscope claiming that the ban was accidental. Even backlash from small streamers is on the rise. English live streamer
PhatUnicorn420 uses music from his real life brother, music producer
SampleTheChef. Even after rejecting and disputing over 200 video mutes to his channel, Twitch are still unable to identify Phat's claims and to stop them reoccurring.
Twitch (service)
Twitch is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and " in real life" streams. Twitch is opera ...
sent a letter to users in October 2020, threatening to remove videos or channels that had copyrighted music on them, and it would not stop streamers from facing punishments due to Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations.
See also
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Gamecaster
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Online streamer
An online streamer or live streamer is a person who broadcasts themselves online through a live stream to an audience.
History
Streaming arose in the early 2010s, originating on sites like YouTube where users could upload videos of themselves i ...
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Software vision mixer In video production, a software vision mixer is a piece of software which is able to switch between various video sources. In some cases, this software is also able to composite (combine) video from various sources. It essentially acts as a software ...
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{{Portal bar, Video games