For those that don’t know, Twitch is Amazon’s video game streaming platform. Viewers all over the world can tune in and find people playing all sorts of video games. The only issue is that people sometimes want to buy the game they are seeing on the stream. Instead of being able to purchase the game directly through Twitch, people are forced to go to marketplaces like Steam and purchase from there. However, things are about to change in a big way.
In the spring of 2017, viewers will be able to purchase the games they are seeing being played on the stream from the same page as the stream. The same goes for the details page of every game. In addition, a person who buy the game through Twitch will get “Twitch Crates”. There crates will offer up prizes and other items to be used to compare to others. Although there is no “set in stone” list for the games that will be available for purchase, Twitch has announced that it will be working with many different studios ranging from AAA to indie studios to release dozens of titles right off the bat.
The best part of the plan is the potential boost to the community the platform is going to receive. If a person purchases a game through Twitch, the developer will receive 70% of the purchase price, the streamer will receive 5%, and the rest goes back to Twitch.
This creates a whole new avenue of support that a streamer can receive from their audience. By encouraging the viewers to purchase games, they will be able to continue to support studios, themselves, and, more importantly, strengthen the community on Twitch. Sales will initially start out for English versions only, and will then roll out for other countries in the later part of 2017.