UPDATED 20:54 EDT / OCTOBER 15 2015

NEWS

YouTube Gaming one-ups Twitch with Android game livestreaming

Twitch may still be the leader of video game livestreaming on consoles and PC, but Google’s YouTube Gaming platform now has a leg up in the one gaming arena Twitch has yet to conquer: mobile.

Today YouTube Gaming launched native livestreaming support for its Android app, allowing users to share their unsightly neck chub with the world as they stare down at their screen while playing Clash of Clans on the toilet.

“Every day, games are played while waiting for the bus, riding the subway, or lounging on the couch—but what about live streaming your mobile gameplay?” Product Manager Barbara Macdonald wrote in a blog post.

“You heard it from us at the Tokyo Game Show and now it’s here to stay. You can now record and live stream mobile gameplay on-the-go directly from Android devices using Mobile Capture on YouTube Gaming. You don’t need any additional hardware or software—just tap Go Live (or your avatar on a phone) in the YouTube Gaming app, turn on your selfie cam and record your commentary with your phone’s microphone.”

Just how much of an audience there is for mobile game streamers remains to be seen, but with mobile livestreaming apps like Periscope gaining more of an audience, portable game streaming may not seem so strange.

Also, games also do not necessarily need to be popular on their own to gain viewers, as many of the most popular streamers bring their own audiences with them to whatever they decide to stream. For example, streamers such as Sean “Day[9]” Plott can bring thousands of concurrent viewers to decades old games like Myst.

The new mobile game streaming option is available on the Android version of YouTube Gaming now, but there is currently no word on whether or not it will make it onto the iOS version. Today’s update also added UI tweaks, video bookmarking, and other improvements, and a small number of content creators can now offer “Fan Funding” or subscription options similar to Twitch’s donation and subscription models.

Image courtesy of Google

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