From a critical remove, then, streaming is a strangely liminal space, one not yet secure in its place in the media landscape. It’s a land of opportunity and nonsense, a media format beyond its Wild West stage yet not quite formed into something that can be subjected to mainstream media analysis. Streaming is a place for big-time, multi-million-dollar celebrities. It’s also a place where marginalized people form communities around games and people they love, where niche gaming communities like speedrunning can grow healthily.
Game livestreaming has entered into popular culture in a big way. Twitch, a platform that boasts having millions of broadcasters producing programs for tens of millions of visitors each day, offers up all kinds of live content 24/7 to viewers around the world. The site hosts a range of shows, from “variety” streamers who broadcast different types of games to massive esports tournaments that pull in hundreds of thousands of viewers over the course of a weekend. You can also find live broadcasts of people making cosplay outfits, cooking, or just streaming everyday life. Livestreaming has become not just a part of game culture, but of our everyday media worlds more broadly. And while a tremendous amount of creative production is happening on the site, big issues remain regarding the governance, regulation, and monetization of user-generated content. While playing games for an enthusiastic audience may seem like a dream job, it can be incredibly hard work that requires a tremendous amount of self-training, skill-up, and hustle. Livestreamers are not only changing the face of gaming and giving us a glimpse into the future of media production, their one-person production studios—and businesses—operated out of their homes sync up all too well with broader trends around labor, online platforms, and the future of work.
DC Comics has released its new streaming service, DC Universe. The subscription service costs $7.99 per month or $74.99 annually, and will feature original live action and animated series from the world of DC Comics, along with digital comics and classic TV series and films.
The esports industry is growing quickly, with new leagues, teams and distribution channels. And this growth is attracting new high-profile esports investment from brands, media organizations and traditional sports rightsholders.
Amazon-owned Twitch is now pulling in as many monthly viewers as cable news networks. In January 2018, Twitch had nearly a million people watching at any given point. Twitch primarily features live video streams of people playing video games, but the service has added other types of content recently.
Twitch is enacting stricter policies in the interest of curbing harassment and sexually suggestive behavior. The company announced today that its new rules will kick into effect on February 19th at 9AM PT — time intended to give users enough warning to remove any clips or videos on demand that violate new guidelines. “During the transition period, we’ll be reaching out to some streamers whose current and past content may violate these new guidelines to help you be successful on Twitch,” the company says. “Our goal is to ensure everyone understands and adheres to the updated Community Guidelines so you can keep creating content for your communities.”
Google is developing a game streaming service, codenamed Yeti, according to a report released on The Information website. The service would add Google to a growing part of the video game business that lets people play games without having to download them, and would reportedly use cloud servers for broadcast. So far, Yeti has been discussed with game developers, although it’s unclear whether the games will be developed specifically for Google’s service.
When EA, the American video game company, launched Star Wars Battlefront II in November, it was seeking redemption. The previous edition of the game, in 2015, had left fans vastly disappointed. But even before the formal launch, players who had early access to Battlefront II — by paying more than the standard cost — began crying foul. Classic Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were locked until players accumulated a small fortune of in-game currency.
There are many accusations against Apple, Facebook, Google, Amazon and others for their addictive effects on our brains and culture. Most of the discourse is about how evil tech companies are (covertly) peddling addictive products/services that are destroying our minds, our society and our relationships. I’ve been frequently quoted in this dialogue as an example of someone who used to focus on increasing addiction (through gamification) to a “changed man” who now believes things have gone too far — with a startup to prove it.
Microsoft’s Xbox One platform is making ambitious moves but remains in second place behind Sony’s massively successful PlayStation 4. A comparatively poor lineup of major exclusive games is a key factor in the Xbox One’s weaker position. A new report from the gaming site Polygon says Microsoft is looking at a major acquisition to help the Xbox group.Valve, EA, and PUBG Corp. are all cited as potential purchases.
