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YouTube Takes The Fight To Twitch With YouTube Gaming

A tablet with a video game on it and access to YouTube.
A tablet with a video game on it and access to YouTube.

When people talk about streaming their favorite games there are of course a few services out there that get the job done but at the end of the day it all about Twitch.tv which is the premiere destination for streaming all your favorite titles. YouTube announced today the launch of their gaming platform which, of course, is being billed as a better alternative to Twitch. As someone who has streamed on Twitch before I much like many others am curious to see how a juggernaut like YouTube can take the game streaming crown from Twitch. So what can gamers expect from YouTube gaming? Here's what YouTube is bringing to the table.

YouTube announced today the official launch of YouTube Gaming, a brand new app and desktop destination designed to keep you connected to the games, players, and culture that matter to you, with videos, live streams, and the biggest community of gamers on the web—all in one place.

Road-tested by thousands of dedicated gaming creators earlier this summer, YouTube Gaming is the go-to destination for gaming content online with several features, including:

  • Automatically pulls in all gaming-related videos and live streams from YouTube to one dedicated place.
  • Viewers get personalized gaming recommendations based on the games and channels they collect. With over 25,000 game pages and even more gaming channels, it’s never been easier to connect with your gaming community.
  • YouTube has improved live stream technology with 60fps streaming, HTML5 playback, and DVR functionality, which allows fans to easily pause, rewind and speed up if they’ve missed any action. Check out the beta version, starting today, at youtube.com/stream.

Find the English-language website (gaming.youtube.com) in any country where YouTube is available, or download the phone and tablet app from Google Play and the App Store, rolling out over the next few hours in the US and UK. Other countries will be coming soon.

Source: YouTube Blog Post

YouTube Gaming Stats

  • YouTube Gaming brings together over 25,000 games
  • YouTube has hundreds of millions of gamers
  • Every month people watch billions of hours of gaming content on YouTube
  • People are spending 75% more time watching gaming videos this year versus last year
  • More than half of YouTube gaming views are on mobile devices
  • Ninety-five percent of gamers turning to YouTube for entertainment and information
  • Half of the top 100 channels by watchtime are gaming