Twitch wants to take a slice of TikTok and Instagram's pie
Twitch is introducing a new feature that we've already seen elsewhere
🤔 Twitch is taking a popular idea from the competition
🎥 It’s adding video stories to the platform
📸 It recently added text and photo stories on mobile-only
🖥️ However, the feature is now available on the web, where most Twitch users are
Twitch is the latest platform to introduce new features that have become synonymous with other apps, in a bid to increase its market share and stay relevant.
The streaming platform primarily focuses on attracting gamers but it’s now adding 60-second video stories to its repertoire (thanks, TechCrunch), which will function similarly to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube’s quick-fire videos. Like Snapchat, the clips will expire after 1, 12, 24 or 48 hours.
Twitch has added the feature to encourage users to upload behind-the-scenes content and keep people engaged on their platform. Streamers can create polls, mention other users, and share clips and highlights of their recent streams. They can also be used to share their streaming schedules or notify viewers of any updates.
Twitch previously launched text and photo stories on mobile, but the feature is now available on the web app. The company said viewers still access Twitch primarily on the web instead of the mobile app, hence the change.
While bringing video stories to Twitch is hardly innovative – the concept was pioneered by Snapchat many years ago – the move has paid off for Instagram and YouTube. TikTok may still be the short-form video app to beat, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Twitch was acquired by Amazon in 2014 for almost $1 billion. It’s still the most popular live-streaming platform for video gamers, though it’s faced several challenges in recent years. Whether it’s having to ban controversial streamers, becoming less lucrative for users, or constantly changing its policies, it seems like the company is always making headlines, often for the wrong reasons.
Still, with Amazon’s backing and a comfortable lead over the competition, Twitch remains relevant today and will continue to evolve.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.