Unveiling Twitter's Exciting Livestreaming Strategy

Highlights

Twitter's recent developments over the past year have been met with mixed reactions from its community. These changes have encompassed various elements such as job reductions, imposing restrictions on tweeting, and introducing fees for blue verification badges.

Elon Musk recently revealed his intentions to enhance Twitter for streaming video games, with the aim of expanding the platform's offerings and challenging the dominance of Twitch and YouTube. In a trial run, Musk himself conducted a live-stream of Diablo 4 on a separate account, which garnered millions of views. It seems that Twitter may be aspiring to establish itself as a prominent destination for livestreaming, much like Twitch and YouTube.

Twitter has undergone various updates since its launch in 2006, but the past year has brought significant changes to the social media platform. After being acquired by Elon Musk and rebranded as X in July, the possibilities seem endless. However, not all changes have been well-received by the community, with concerns over job cuts, temporary tweet limitations, and the introduction of a monthly fee for blue verification marks.

Despite these setbacks, Elon Musk recently revealed his latest plans for Twitter: optimizing it for streaming video games. This may come as a surprise to some, as the platform was initially known for sharing thoughts through status updates. However, Twitter has been expanding its features to compete with various social media categories, so the inclusion of Twitch and YouTube as rivals may not be entirely unexpected.

Twitter's Streaming Service Could Rival Twitch and YouTube

Musk's ongoing lawsuit with Grimes hasn't stopped him from pursuing new opportunities on Twitter. Interestingly, it was recently revealed through a simple demonstration that Twitter is working on scaling livestreaming games. This revelation came as a shock to many when an account called @cyb3rgam3r420 went live on October 1, showing Elon Musk's reactions via a face cam.

Initially, Musk likely created this alternate Twitter account to avoid attracting too much attention during the broadcast. However, the subsequent stream tests took place on his main account. As of now, the first stream of Diablo 4, which lasted almost an hour, has accumulated over 714,000 views, while the third test from October 6 has over 9,000,000 views.

Musk initially planned to speedrun Diablo 4 on September 27 to test the limits of the site. He considered the first stream a success since it handled a lengthy stream and an intensive game simultaneously. Twitter engineer Mark Kalman revealed that those interested in streaming can use OBS to connect to Twitter. However, it's important to note that some features may not be fully optimized or still in beta.

Musk's tweet on October 7 hinted at Twitter's serious interest in becoming a mainstream livestreaming platform, particularly focused on comments and building communities. Twitter aims to develop a service similar to Twitch and YouTube. Currently, broadcasting is limited to Twitter Premium subscribers, but anyone can watch during the stream.

Following Twitter's rebrand, it is evident that the app is undergoing modifications to transform into a versatile platform rather than just a specialized one. Besides featuring gaming streams, there has also been exploration into incorporating live shopping and brainstorming ways to establish the app as a financial force. The outcome of Twitter's gaming facet remains uncertain, but it seems that Musk's belief in games being the future of Twitter, as expressed in 2022, shows no sign of wavering.