Up your Dauntless build with new in-game loot available for Twitch Prime members
Think your squad has what it takes to be on top? Download Dauntless for FREE now and find out how your skills stack up in the face of powerful behemoths across a massive online world. There’s a reason why this Action RPG from Phoenix Labs broke the 10 million player mark just 3 weeks after launch — and there’s never been a better time to join the hunt.
Get the Combat Essentials Supply Pack for FREE
Starting July 9, Twitch Prime members can get the Combat Essentials Supply Pack, including 50 Ace Chips, assorted potion pack, 1 Patrol Boost (7 days), Purple Dye, and TWO pieces of the Desperado Armorset — the Poncho and the Greaves. Claim now!
Here are the top three reasons you should already be playing Dauntless:
Slay with your squad. It’s available cross-platform on PC, PS4 and XB1, so you can drop into co-op battles wherever you game.
Customize your loadouts. Craft deadly weapons and powerful armor made from the very creatures you destroy.
Get rewarded. Get your FREE Combat Essentials Supply pack just for being a Twitch Prime member.
Coming Soon: A New Way to Play
Test your mettle against the masses with a new way to play Dauntless.
Trials: Earn exclusive, prestigious rewards with hard-earned currency, etch your name onto the Wall of Champions, and show off that you really are the best of the best. Only the deadliest, most efficient teams and solo players will be ranked on top! No more claiming you’re the best — it’s time to prove it.
What is Twitch Prime? As a part of Amazon Prime, Twitch Prime comes with the best perks for gamers. Benefits include in-game loot, FREE games, a FREE monthly channel subscription on Twitch. Plus you’ll also score all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one FREE pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited FREE two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
Start your FREE trial right now, and get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
EA Sports and the FIFA team, the most popular sports game franchise in the world, is teaming up with Twitch Prime to offer members two exclusive content drops over the next two months in FIFA Ultimate Team. Starting today, Prime members can get a jump start on the FUTTIES Ultimate Team program with a Twitch Prime Pack that guarantees one 86 OVR or better player plus 3 rare gold player items.
The FUTTIES program is a special event in Ultimate Team that features special Reward Packs, FUT Favourites voting, and the return of the best players of the year from FUT 19. Celebrate the best of FUT 19 and the FUTTIES with Twitch Prime.
Check out the FIFA 19 Twitch Prime homepage at twitch.amazon.com/fifa19 to get more information and claim your FIFA 19 content. This first content drop will be available to claim until August 8th. Be sure to check back for additional drop details at that time.
What is Twitch Prime?
Twitch Prime is Amazon Prime’s home for gamers, and is included with Prime. Benefits include in-game loot, free games, a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch AND all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
You can try it free right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
A special Apex Legends care package is here and it’s only available for Prime members!
Twitch Prime and Respawn have combined forces again to bring even more Apex Legends in-game content for Prime members with 4 in-game content drops over a three month period. Starting today, Prime members can claim the exclusive Sweet Dreams Wattson skin shown above that this legend rocking out in unicorn gear. Prime members can also claim the Stellar Stallion skin for the brand new weapon, L-Star.
Head on over here to get more information and claim your Apex content. Be sure to come back for additional drops later in July and August.
What is Twitch Prime?
Twitch Prime is the Amazon Prime home for gamers, and is included with Prime. Benefits include in-game loot, free games, a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch AND all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
You can try it free right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
Notify your Discord and website when streamers go live with your Extension!
This is a guest post by Matt Condon (Thanks, Matt! 👋), one half of the two-person team at dot that builds the Stickers Extension.
The Stickers Extension turns any stream into a canvas for viewers where viewers receive rare digital stickers that they place on-stream for everyone to see in real-time. Each time a viewer places a sticker on-stream, every viewer sees it for a few seconds and the Extension gives the placer a shout-out in chat. Subscribers can claim a free sticker ticket every week, and since each sticker is a scarce, unique item, stickers placed on a stream are now owned by the streamer, who can spread the love to other channels.
Recently, as part of the Stickers website and Discord, we added a live feed of channels that are streaming with the Stickers Extension enabled. With live channels on the Stickers website, prospective streamers can easily see Stickers live on an active streamer’s channel, helping them understand how it will look on their own channel and affect their viewers. Plus, with the live feed in Discord, chatters see when a new streamer goes live, as social proof that the Stickers Extension is being used across Twitch.
We have so many live streamer notifications that I’m tempted to mute the channel, but I love knowing when a new streamer joins the Sticker fam.
The stickers website with a list of live channels in the footer.
The Stickers Bot posting a live notification for FluxFer in the #live-with-stickers channel in the Stickers Discord.
We’ll show you how to build a feed of live channels for your own Extension and how to integrate it into your own Discord channel and website. We’ll assume basic knowledge of Lambda and basic understanding of how to use databases like DynamoDB, but you can use the technique here with any technology stack you choose.
How the Live Channel Feed Works
The live channel feed consists of two separate outputs:
A list of all of the currently active channels in order to display them on the website.
A feed of new channels going live in order to post messages in the Discord.
The Twitch Extension API provides the useful endpoint live_activated_channels which returns a paginated list of channels that are live with your Extension activated. We’ll periodically ask Twitch for a list of live activated channels and then do our own processing to create a list of channels and a feed of newly live channels. Note that streamers will take a few minutes to show up in the list provided by this endpoint, so if you’re looking for by-the-second updates on when streamers go live, read the Twitch documentation–specifically the Webhook support via stream_changed.
Backend Architecture
At dot we rely heavily on AWS, among others, for our backend infrastructure — Stickers is a real-time serverless application that has run with 100 percent uptime over the last two months.
We leverage AWS’s serverless-friendly products like Lambda, DynamoDB, AppSync, and CloudWatch in particular to drive the live feed.
The backend architecture of our live channel feed, described in detail below.
Every 10 minutes, a CloudWatch Rule invokes a sync_live_channels Lambda function which queries the Twitch Extension API for live activated channels — paging through the returned pages — and stores the results in a DynamoDB table called live-channels.
The live-channels table has an item TTL of 15 minutes, so stale items are removed 15 minutes after insertion. This keeps the list of live channels fresh — streams that go offline will be removed within 15 minutes.
To get a list of channels, the get_live_channels Lambda function runs a DynamoDB query against the live-channels table’s by_view_count index — sorted by a streamer’s view_count — and returns that list to the caller.
To produce a list of newly live channels, the DynamoDB Stream from live-channels is forwarded to a Lambda consumer called notify_live_channels which then posts a message to Discord using their webhooks API.
Let’s break some of those steps down with some code examples! These examples are in TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript that JS developers should feel at home reading.
The sync_live_channels Lambda function
The sync_live_channels Lambda function is responsible for pulling the list of live channels from Twitch and storing them in our DynamoDB table.
Here we can see some pseudocode for querying the Twitch API and storing the results in our live-channels DynamoDB table. At the moment, there’s a bug in the API response: occasionally, you’ll receive a response with an empty list of channels but still receive a cursor for the next page. Once you query that cursor again, Twitch will return the next page of live activated channels to you, so your code must be able to handle the case where no channels are returned in the response, but a cursor still provides another page. The TwitchAPI team is aware of this minor issue, though it’s always advisable to check your data!
The notify_live_channels Lambda function
This Lambda function is subscribed to DynamoDB Stream events from our live-channel table, so it gets invoked when items are added. This Lambda’s job is to take the new stream, combine it with other information we know about the streamer — using the Twitch API — and publish that information to our Discord channel.
Notice how we use the Twitch brand purple — encoded in decimal — as the color for our Discord embed; that’s what gives us the pretty purple border to the left of Discord messages! Also notice that we restrict Discord notifications to streamers with at least 5,000 total views on their channel; this helps us avoid spam from accounts with low view counts that may install the Extension.
To get a Discord Webhook, set up a webhook in the channel you’d like messages to appear.
Configuring a Discord webhook for the #live-with-stickers channel in the Stickers Discord.
And then enjoy the result!
A notification for CrazeG4 going live with Stickers.
The get_live_channels Lambda function
This Lambda function is in charge of querying the currently live channels and returning that to the caller. In a production application, you would expose this with an API Gateway route or an AppSync resolver and cache the result.
This Lambda function queries the DynamoDB index for the top 20 live channels ordered by their view_count, merges that data with extra information about the streamer we know, like their profile_image_url and login, and returns the bundle of data to the caller.
On the frontend, we can build our UI with the following elements:
the streamer’s profile_image_url
a recent frame from their stream, which is provided via thumbnail_url in the /helix/streams endpoint, and adding our dimensions of 256x144
a link to their Twitch channel like https://twitch.tv/{login}
This year, our favorite made-up holiday, Amazon Prime Day, takes place July 15 & 16. To celebrate, Twitch is hosting our very own live shopping show on /twitchpresents that promises to be unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed…but, like, in a good way. It’s called Twitch Sells Out: A Prime Day Special Event, and it starts July 15 at 10am PT.
We’ve gone through every single item on sale for Prime Day and curated the best of the best for the Twitch Community. During two, twelve-hour broadcasts — one on July 15 from 10am to 10pm PT; the second on July 16 at the same time — dozens of your favorite Twitch streamers will be showcasing deals on everything from games and gaming peripherals, to kitchenware and electronics. They’ll also dive into previously unseen demos and gameplay of some of the most anticipated releases of the year. And you can buy or pre-order it all instantly on stream. We’ll even shine the spotlight on some of Prime Day’s more…unusual items for sale. You’ll just have to tune in to see what we mean.
Twitch Prime is all you need
To get in on all the incredible deals, you’ll need to have Prime, so make sure you’re all signed up or take a free trial before the big day so you don’t miss any of the featured sales. Some of them will only be available for a limited time, so if you’re busy signing up you may miss out. And don’t forget, you’ll also get a free channel subscription plus tons of other Twitch and Amazon benefits when you sign up.You can start a free trial RIGHT NOW by clicking here.
Co-stream the show with us
Because we want everyone to celebrate Prime Day with us, co-streaming will be enabled for the entirety of Twitch Sells Out. So feel free to add your own commentary to the items we’re featuring. The Blacksmith Extension, an interactive on-screen overlay with links to purchase the products, will be in ‘Live Event Mode’ so if you’re a Partner or Affiliate, make sure you enable it on your channel to get a share of the revenue for any product or Prime sign-up sold through your channel. Want to know more about Blacksmith and how to set it up on your channel? Head on over to this handy blog post that talks about just that.
Who’s hosting?
Some amazing Twitch streamers will be joining us to host and participate in Twitch Sells Out. (They’re all currently locked in a windowless room watching an almost unhealthy amount of infomercials to get ready.) We can’t name names just yet, but we can promise that many of your favorites will be involved. We’ll be announcing the full list of who’s participating on July 10.
What else is happening for Prime Day?
Twitch Sells Out is just one way to get involved this Prime Day and in fact there’s a whole lot more in store for Prime members. Here’s some of what you can expect:
Twitch merch is on sale! Prime members, take 30% off your entire Twitch Merch purchase from July 3 to July 16. Enter promo code: PRIME2019 at checkout. Shop at the store right here.
Bonus Bits!We’re throwing in 10% more Bits when you Cheer ten or more with the BleedPurple Cheermote in any affiliate or partner channel.*
In-game content and a celebrity-filled live streaming event for both Apex Legends and EA Sports. Click here for more details.
*This is a limited time offer. Offer begins on July 10, 2019 and expires on July 16, 2019 at 11:59PM PT. Offer is subject to all Twitch terms and policies, including the Bits Acceptable Use Policy. Twitch reserves the right to modify or cancel the offer at any time.
Get a cut when viewers make Prime Day purchases on your channel.
The Amazon Blacksmith Extension allows you to showcase your favorite products in an overlay or panel and earn revenue from sales through the Amazon Associates program.
For the 48-hour duration of Prime Day, Blacksmith will generate a series of notifications that include links for viewers to purchase the best Twitch-curated Prime Day products and deals. Whether you co-stream Twitch’s show, Twitch Sells Out, or just shop deals with your community — this is a great opportunity for you to earn affiliate revenue when your viewers make purchases on your channel.
Additional Prime Day revenue opportunities via the Extension include:
2X bounties for Prime Sign Ups (from $3 to $6 during the month of July)
$500 Bonus cash if you exceed $5k in products sold (See details below)
The Prime Day “Live Event Mode” experience is designed to be on screen as an overlay but a similar experience will be available through the panel as well.
Blacksmith Set-Up Instructions
Partners & Affiliates,click hereto install and activate the Blacksmith Extension!
Ok! It’s Installed, What’s Next? That’s it! Event Mode will be turned on by default and will start to push out Prime Day Deals on July 15th at 12 AM PST
Co-Stream Twitch Sells Out
The entire Twitch Sells Out stream can be co-streamed. All 36 glorious hours of it. So feel free to add your unique commentary on the show and the deals. For maximum exposure and discoverability we recommend you co-stream under the following settings:
CATEGORY: Special Events
TAG: Co-stream
More Details / FAQ
Who can use Amazon Blacksmith? Twitch Partners and Affiliates can join the Associates Program and use Amazon Blacksmith to earn on Twitch.
How does the $500 Bonus work? For the month of July, if you exceed $5k in products purchased via the Extension on your channel, you’ll be eligible for a $500 bonus..
When / How will it get paid out? The bonus will be paid out via your Amazon Associates account.
How do I turn it off? You can turn on/off Prime Day Event Mode content in your card configuration by toggling Event Mode.
Overlay or Panel? Live Event Mode within the Overlay is the premier experience, however the Panel is supported as well. Choose whatever feels right for your channel.
We’ve added a number of exciting and often-requested features to the Twitch API in the past three months. There’s something for everyone — ease of some developer pain points, previously unavailable Twitch functionality, and a new mechanism to ingest subscription data.
Bits Transaction API
Imagine you built a new Extension — it’s fun, entertaining, and it leverages Bits as a monetization mechanism. It’s getting traction among broadcasters, but its popularity is also its downfall — your Extension Backend Service experiences a temporary outage due to high load. In this scenario, it is difficult to retroactively fulfill the benefits to viewers who have already used Bits via the Extension.
The Bits Transaction API is a new way to retrieve a list of historical transactions that have occurred within your Extension across all of the channels where it was installed. The API is comprised of a single endpoint and a corresponding Webhooks topic; you can use the latter to be notified of transactions as they are processed.
By using this API, you can “replay” the missing transactions and fulfill the relevant benefits to viewers who were affected by the outage.
Moderators play a crucial role in making sure a channel is a welcoming place. To bridge the gap between the tooling at their disposal and what’s available programmatically, we recently released the first iteration of the Moderation API.
You can now retrieve the list of channel moderators, determine a user’s moderator status, and get notified when a broadcaster adds or removes a moderator. Similar functionality is offered with respect to banned users, as well as those on a timeout. Finally, an additional endpoint allows you to check the compliance of a string against the channel’s AutoMod settings.
This API is particularly useful if you’re building an Extension that facilitates user-generated content. For example, if your overlay Extension displays alerts based on viewer-submitted text, it would be a good pattern to first check if the user should be able to use the Extension at all (e.g., if they are banned in chat or not) and second whether their submission is acceptable with regards to the channel’s AutoMod.
Learn more:
Subscriptions API
Last year, we’ve added the ability to retrieve the list of broadcaster’s subscribers to the Helix namespace. To further flesh out this functionality, we recently released an additional subscriptions-specific endpoint which in turn powers the relevant Webhooks topic.
By subscribing to this new topic, you can immediately get notified when viewers subscribe, unsubscribe, and share their subscription status with the broadcaster in chat. You can also determine the subscription tier, as well as whether the subscription was a gift or not.
Subscriptions are a powerful signal that you can use as a trigger in your integrations. For example, you could avoid aggressively polling the API to determine whether a viewer has access to functionality available only to channel subscribers.
Venture onto the virtual pitch for this year’s Twitch Prime Crown Cup in London on July 13 featuring EA SPORTS titles. Starting at 10AM PT, teams of celebrities from the worlds of sports and TV will vie for the crown in a fun contest live on twitch.tv/twitchprime. Who will run the table — or deliver the epic comeback — to take home the crown?
Hosted by streamer Castro1021, the event consists of 4 teams, each featuring a celebrity captain, a streamer, and two additional TV or sports celebrities. With each match being 2-v-2, we’re sure to hear lots of smack talk from their other teammates in the gallery, so make sure you catch all the action live! After 6 league matches, the top 2 teams play off in a grand finale, where the winner is crowned champion.
Event festivities kick off July 8 with Castro engaging with his community on his Twitch channel to select a daily draft pick for each celebrity captain. Make sure you tune in to help build the teams the celebrities will use!
The contest also features items from the exclusive Twitch Prime EA SPORTS title’s in-game content drop taking place a few days before the London Twitch Prime Crown Cup begins, so make sure you’re following Twitch Prime’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds to get the latest information on what’s dropping so you have all the goods before your friends.
For the latest in Prime Day gaming deals, exclusive Twitch Prime content, and more, head over to twitchprime.com.
And finally, stay tuned for more Prime Day announcements from Twitch tomorrow.
Follow us on social media
About Twitch Prime
Twitch Prime is the Amazon Prime home for gamers. Benefits include in-game loot, free games, a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch and all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
Twitch Prime is teaming up with EA to create a Prime Day experience like no other: the Twitch Prime Crown Cup in Las Vegas, featuring Apex Legends. Starting at 2PM PT on July 13, this year’s event brings music, movie, and streaming celebrities together with Prime members in an epic battle live on twitch.tv/twitchprime to see who will take home the title. There can be only one to wear the crown!
Kicking off with the debut of a new single by multiple Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Murda Beatz, the Las Vegas Twitch Prime Crown Cup rolls into round-by-round Apex Legends action hosted by TimTheTatman with commentary and interviews between each match provided by Kevin Smith and Jay Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob) throughout the event.
The competition also features Apex Legends’ character and weapon skins exclusive to Twitch Prime members that are dropping just days before the event. So, make sure you’re following Twitch Prime’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds to get the latest information on what’s dropping in the days leading up to the Vegas Crown Cup so you have the goods before all your friends.
Our day starts off at 2 p.m. with a Streamer Challenge, where eight special-guest Twitch streamers square off to see who will advance to the Crown Cup main event, which begins at 4:30 p.m. PT. After a few rounds of pool play, the action advances through semi-finals to the Crown Cup Finals, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. before the evening closes out with a trophy ceremony and music set by Murda Beatz.
For a sneak peek at the Crown Cup action, be sure to tune in to the practice rounds July 11 and 12 starting at 6 p.m. PT live on twitch.tv/twitchprime as our celebrities take their first steps into the world of Apex Legends with our guest streamers. You won’t want to miss out on the round-by-round commentary as the celebrities stop by the broadcast booth when they’re not playing, commenting on the success… and epic failures… of their fellow stars.
For the latest in Prime Day gaming deals, exclusive Twitch Prime content, and more, head over to twitchprime.com.
And finally, stay tuned for more Prime Day announcements from Twitch tomorrow.
About Twitch Prime
Twitch Prime is the Amazon Prime home for gamers. Benefits include in-game loot, free games, a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch and all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
Communities are the :bleedPurple: heart of Twitch. When streamers and their viewers come together week after week to bond over the things they love, they build authentic connections that make Twitch a place like none other.
Creators often ask us for new and better ways to reward their viewers; VIP badges and custom Sub emotes are just a few examples. The next gadget we’re adding to their kit is Subscriber Streams. This feature launches in beta today, and we’re breaking it down right here, right now.
What are Subscriber Streams and how do they work?
Subscriber Streams are an exciting new way for streamers to offer another benefit to some of their biggest supporters — subscribers, VIPs, and Mods.
If a viewer subscribes to a channel at any tier, including a Twitch Prime subscription, they’ll have access to that creator’s Subscriber Streams. If they’re not a subscriber and they arrive on a channel that’s running a Subscriber Stream, they’ll see a preview of what’s going on and, if they’d like, they’ll be able to join the party immediately by subscribing.
What are the requirements?
We’re excited to get this feature into as many creators’ hands as possible, but it’s also crucial that streamers and their communities stay safe and follow our guidelines (see the section below). The requirements to broadcast a Subscriber Stream are:
The streamer must be a Twitch Affiliate or Twitch Partner.
The streamer must not have violated the Twitch Community Guidelines in their last 90 unique broadcast days. This means that if their channel received a suspension, they would need to broadcast on 90 different days without another violation to be eligible again.
Steps we’re taking to help keep Subscriber Streams safe
As with any other stream on Twitch, Subscriber Stream content must fall under our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Subscriber Streams are not private, and we’ve taken steps to ensure a safe and welcoming experience:
As mentioned above, to broadcast a Subscriber Stream, creators must have streamed 90 unique days without a violation. If a qualified streamer does receive a violation, they’ll need to meet this requirement all over again to re-earn access to the feature — starting from day 0.
Subscriber Streams are not private streams. When you arrive at a Subscriber Stream as a non-subscriber, you’ll be able to preview the content live, subscribe, and join the community right away if you’d like.
Subscriber Streams are tagged “Subscriber Stream” for easy discoverability. This tag cannot be removed, and it will always appear first when multiple tags are in use. People can view live previews and report content if they believe it violates our Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
Subscriber Streams are launching in beta. If you have ideas about how to improve Subscriber Streams, we’d love to get your feedback right here.
What kind of stuff can creators do with Subscriber Streams?
Streamers on Twitch have a way of surprising all of us by using our new features in unexpected ways (we’re looking at you, Squad Streamers), but we could definitely see competitive streamers taking requests on heroes or champions to play, tabletop streamers running a weekly campaign for Subs, music streamers making all-request set lists, and a whole lot more.
What does a Subscriber Stream look like?
Pretty much the same as any other stream — but there are a few small differences.
Subscriber Streams will automatically be tagged “Subscriber Stream” for easy discoverability, and the tag cannot be removed. Subscriber Streams will also feature a star icon (like the one on the Subscribe button) in the left nav on twitch.tv.
And lastly, arriving at a channel running a Subscriber Stream as a non-subscriber will bring up a live content preview. If you like what that community is into, you can subscribe to join immediately and start watching and chatting to your (purple) heart’s content.
In short, they look like this.
How do VODs work for Subscriber Streams?
After a Subscriber Stream, the corresponding VOD will automatically be available for Subscribers. This is regardless of whether the Subscriber-only archives setting in your Dashboard settings is toggled on or off.
If you so choose, you can edit permissions on individual Subscriber Stream VODs via the Video Producer tab of your dashboard.
How do Clips work for Subscriber Streams?
Clips can still be created during a Subscriber Stream and shared during and after the stream. Clips created from Subscriber Streams will not have any restrictions placed on them. If you do not wish for Clips to be shared you may moderate your Clips accordingly in the Clips Manager.
Will Subscriber Streams stop me from completing my Affiliate “Path to Partner” Achievement?
No, we understand that by broadcasting Subscriber Streams your overall CCU may be lower. As such, we do not wish to penalize Affiliates that wish to create custom content for their loyal subscribers.
Subscriber Streams are available now to Partners and Affiliates who meet the requirements above. Check it out on your dashboard, or visit the help page for more information.
Twitch Extensions create new ways to bring Twitch streamers and viewers together, to create amazing content, and to connect games to a live broadcast. But like any new technology, it can feel overwhelming to start using it.
I’m Breci, a member of the Twitch Developer community, I currently work as a full-stack developer, and I specialize in interactive experiences.
In this article, I will share what I’ve learned when making Twitch Extensions, how they are made, and how you can use Twitch tools to reduce hosting costs, improve scaling, and engage streamers and viewers in your work.
If this is your first time working with Twitch Extensions, you should check out the Getting Started first and install the Developer Rig.
Extensions are webpages
If you look at the Getting Started page for Twitch Extensions, you will see this information: “Extensions are programmable, interactive overlays and panels, which help broadcasters interact with viewers.”
It can be said differently, “Extensions are static webpages displayed on top of or entirely below the video.”
With that in mind, you can easily create your first Extension using HTML/CSS/JS, like any other website. And, of course, you can use frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, etc. to build your Extensions.
Please note that the pages need to be static webpages; you can’t use server-side rendering.
You can find a minimal Twitch Extension here:
Use the right Extensions types
There are three types of Extensions: panel, video component, and video overlay.
Each Extension type has certain advantages and limitations, so consider these as you think about what type of Extension you want to build.
Panel
The panel Extension lives under the stream and can be popped out if the viewer wants to.
To see them, viewers have to scroll down.
They should mainly be used for informative content that requires little interaction or content totally separated from the stream.
Three can be active at the same time.
Video component
The video component Extension lives on top of the stream and inside of an Extensions Sidebar on the channel page.
They can take all the interactive space on the video player, but you can take less space if you want, and they have a transparent black background.
These Extensions will be minimized when the viewers join the stream.
They should be used for specific use cases that bring complementary or interactive content.
Two can be active at the same time.
Video overlay
The video overlay Extension lives on top of the stream; it covers the whole video player.
These Extensions will be directly visible when the viewer joins the stream.
They should be used for content that will go hand in hand with the broadcast like game integrations.
One can be active at a time.
Choosing the right type impacts engagement. Moving my Extension Live Request from a panel to a video component doubled the engagement, because it was meant to be interactive and complementary to the stream.
The JavaScript helper is your new best friend
When building Twitch Extensions, you will need to use the JavaScript helper.
It is a small library, provided by Twitch, that must be imported on your Extension.
With it, you can access all the useful information from the current user and your Extension. You can also trigger functionality like asking the user to share their identity, follow a channel, and trigger Bits transaction. You can even receive messages from the Extension or react to changes in the stream, allowing you to adapt the content of your Extension appropriately.
Store data with the Configuration Service
Let’s talk about saving the data. For example, you want to display some messages that can be customized by the streamer.
You could use a database for this, but you will have to set up an API and the database as well as manage scaling and the costs associated with it.
Using the Twitch Configuration Service in my Extension Quests allowed me to remove all costs involved in the project and focus on the concept without having to worry about costs.
The Configuration Service is a free service that allows developers to store data hosted by Twitch and access it directly from their Extension without the need for a backend.
This service offers three segments where you can store data:
broadcaster: data is shared only on the channel of the broadcaster and can be set from the JavaScript helper by the broadcaster or from an API endpoint. Each channel has its own segment.
developer: data is shared only on the channel of the broadcaster and can only be set from an API endpoint. Each channel has its own segment.
global: data is shared with all the channels using the Extension and can only be set from an API endpoint. There is only one for all the channels of your Extension.
You can store up to 5KB of data per segment.
For global data, like maintenance status, or certain configurations, you should use the global segment.
If you want to handle more data, you will need to have your own data storage with a backend in front of it to protect it.
A broadcaster with a bit of experience in programming could change the content of his broadcaster segment easily. To set up things like exclusive features, you should use the developer segment.
PubSub messages help with scaling
You may be wondering: How can I start a poll when the broadcaster hits a button? Do I have to add a WebSocket connection for every user?
You could… Or you can just use the Twitch Extension PubSub. It allows you to send messages to the users of your Extension without having to manage all the scaling of WebSocket or do massive polling from each client. Twitch already manages a PubSub system for you.
With this system, you can send PubSub messages to two targets:
broadcast: to all the users of a channel.
global: to all the users of your Extension, but can only be sent from an Extension Backend Service (EBS), which is simply the backend of your application, and you are responsible for hosting it and creating it if you need one.
As an example with this system, a broadcaster could press a button that triggers a PubSub message to all viewers and make text appear on the stream.
Note: You can only send up to 5KB of data and one PubSub per second, per channel.
Engage viewers with Bits
Bits are a virtual good that viewers can use to celebrate and support streamers on Twitch. As a developer, you can enable your Extension so that viewers can use Bits for everything from getting on leaderboards to playing sounds or messages directly on stream, and even influencing gameplay.
Each time a viewer uses Bits in your Extension is an opportunity to engage a stream by displaying visual feedback and showing viewers more ways that they can interact with the stream.
You can listen to Bits transactions in two ways:
Inside the Extension
twitch.ext.bits.onTransactionComplete( transaction => { if ( transaction.initiator === ‘CURRENT_USER’){ // do personalized feedback } else { // do generic feedback } }
From your EBS, using Webhooks
You can then send a PubSub message to your Extension or to a video source overlay.
Note: Bits transaction broadcast does not count in the Twitch Extension PubSub rate.
Let Streamers choose the Bits value
There is no “premade” way to allow streamers to set their own Bits value for a feature in the Extension.
When using Bits in your Extension, you have to create Bits products. They are used to define the possible Bits transaction in your Extension. But, you can create several of them and use them to allow multiple values.
For example, you can create:
value100: 100 Bits
value250: 250 Bits
value500: 500 Bits
And the streamer can simply choose one of them. You could have 50 possible values or two; it is up to you.
Some you might need more information than what the JavaScript helper provides. Since your Extension is a webpage, you can call Twitch’s API directly from it.
Do you want to deactivate your panel Extension when the stream is offline? Check it directly from the API on your Extension using the Streams endpoint with the channelId of the current channel.
window.Twitch.ext.onAuthorized(auth => { const url = `https://api.twitch.tv/helix/streams/id=${auth.channelId}`; const fetchData = { method: “GET”, headers: { “Client-ID”: “YourExtensionClientIdHere” } }; fetch(url,fetchData) .then(resp => resp.json()) // Transform the data into json .then(data => { if (data.data && data.data.length) { // Display extension } else { // Show offline message } }); });
If you have an EBS, make sure to always check server-side the validity of the data sent by your users.
Help viewers notice your Extension
Twitch Extensions are fairly new, so some viewers don’t yet know how to interact with them.
For video overlay Extensions, you might want to engage viewers by showing them they can interact with something on the stream. The best time to do this is when viewers move the mouse on top of the video player, because it means the viewer might not be 100 percent focused on the content in the stream. This is a great opportunity to create a nice call to action and/or animations to engage and educate the viewer about the Extension.
One way to do it is to use the arePlayerControlsVisible from the onContext callback
twitch.ext.onContext( context =>{ if (context.arePlayerControlsVisible) { // display information } else { // hide information } }
Titatitutu playing Trackmania, showing an example of helping viewers notice an Extension
Your Extension can — and should — be lazy
Your Extension will not be the primary content of the stream; it will complement it. Viewers will first come for the streamer, then use your work.
With that in mind, you don’t have to display your Extension as fast as possible like a regular website. There will be a bit of buffering before the live feed starts, the viewers will first focus on the content of the stream, then on your Extension. This gives you a lot of time to gather all the necessary data and display it nicely for the viewers.
I recommend you check out this talk by Karl Patrick from TwitchCon 2018 Developer Day to learn more about how to set up design patterns for Twitch scale.
Conclusion
I hope my experiences and learnings building Twitch Extensions help you get started. Extensions are a new paradigm in live interactive content, and I hope to see many of you joining this fun journey!
We recently announced an upcoming design update to component Extensions that will change the way streamers and viewers activate and interact with them. Developers have to make UI changes to their component Extensions by July 31 to capture the benefits in adoption and engagement the new model will provide.
Introducing the Extensions Sidebar
Our goal is to provide the canvas for all Extensions on Twitch to shine. When component Extensions were released, it was expected that streamers would install multiple Extensions on their channels and provide complementary experiences to their viewers. Instead, we saw that few streamers installed more than one Extension despite the great work done by developers. Since launch, it has become clear to us that we needed to improve the product. To understand how, we conducted extensive user research and came away with the following conclusions.
Component Extensions need to:
Be easy to find and intuitive to interact with
Prioritize the video first
Be consistent to set up and activate on a channel
To improve the channel experience for everyone, the Extensions Sidebar will be the new design model for component Extensions. This means that component Extensions on all channels will live in the sidebar by default, and they will render on the channel in the minimized state.
By standardizing where components live on the channel, the Extensions Sidebar makes it easier for viewers to find and interact with them. For viewers, this means faster recognition of an Extension than in the previous model where Extensions could be placed anywhere on the video.
Similarly, by simplifying the configuration process, we’re taking the guesswork out of activating Extensions for streamers. Now they don’t have to worry about positioning Extensions that obstruct the video experience for viewers in unexpected ways. Consistent placement will give streamers the confidence to activate more Extensions on their channel because they can predict how a new Extension will interact with their content.
We believe that these changes will result in greater adoption of the incredible interactions developers have already built and will deliver on the promise of multiple anchor types creating complementary channel experiences.
Building Differently
To take advantage of this new design framework, developers have to make UI changes to their existing Extensions prior to GA on July 31. Following the GA launch of the Extensions Sidebar, we’ll be providing a 30-day window for developers to finalize and deploy updates to any Extensions that were not updated ahead of launch. Extensions that have not been updated for the new Sidebar design may have component support disabled until a compliant update is released after those 30 days.
This new UI model improves the way developers build components by taking away some of the complexity involved with supporting multiple states and increasing the prominence of the panel width and icon size. These benefits include:
No need to create or manage a minimized state
No need to create your own close/minimize system
No more transparent iframes blocking interaction
No more component positioning by streamers
Components can take more than 50% of the player width when open
Increased prominence of Extension icons
This change will have minimal impact on the overlay Extension experience. Overlay Extensions will remain visible by default on page load, but if you have elements positioned on the right side of the screen where the Sidebar now lives, you may need to update to accommodate the new Sidebar UI elements.
Learn how to update your component Extension to the new UI by reading the how-to guide. If you run into any issues while testing, please report them on the TwitchDev forum.
Let us know if you have any questions about updating component Extensions by connecting with us on Discord | Twitter | Developer Forum.
Ready to build interactive experiences on Twitch? Start now!
Over the past two years, we’ve hosted a dedicated Developer Day the day before TwitchCon. We’re pleased to announce that the developer experience is now fully integrated into TwitchCon San Diego — Friday through Sunday — with a dedicated learning path and fun experiences specific to developers.
Developers can learn how to build deeper integrations and interactive experiences on Twitch — and now connecting with the creators and communities who use them will be even easier.
We’ll also have a full-featured live stream where you can hear from and interact with the Twitch team and members of the TwitchDev community.
We’ll have more details in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
E3 is the biggest event in gaming, so naturally Twitch will be on-site covering ALL the things. Every announcement, every press conference, every demo, and every crazy unexpected surprise. We’re going to be streaming it all. And this year, we’re making it easy for you to be a part of the show, even if you’re not with us IRL in LA. It all starts Sunday, June 9 so read on to learn all the ways we’re going to make this E3 the best. One. Ever.
This year, you’re in charge
From the first press conference to the very last bit of gameplay, if it’s happening at E3 we’ll be streaming it live with our fearless hosts weighing in on all the big news. But this year we want to hand you the metaphorical controller so you can be a part of the show. When you tune in to our E3 coverage on /twitch you’ll have more ways to interact and let your voice be heard than ever before.
From instant polls to tell us the games you’re most excited about, to voting on the first ever Twitch Viewer’s Choice Award (best in show), we want to hear what you think every step of the way. And when game devs and publishers visit our set (full schedule coming soon!) we’ll be taking your questions from chat.
We’re also debuting Twitch Goes. It’s a way for you to choose where we go within E3 and LA Live. Viewers can collectively guide Twitch, call the shots, and decide what’s worth checking out. It’ll be just like being there in person, only your feet won’t hurt at the end of the day.
Co-streaming is back
Want to watch the show alongside your favorite streamer? Co-streaming is back in a big way and everyone is invited to give it a spin. So make sure to search for the ‘E3’ and ‘Co-stream’ tags within the Special Events category to see if your favorite streamer is covering the show. This year we’ll also be featuring select co-streamers on /twitch to act as hosts for post-press conference wrap ups. If you’re a creator who wants to learn how to co-stream, you can read all the need-to-knows here.
Pre-Order games as they’re announced
Just in time for the big show, we’ve updated the Amazon Blacksmith extension with a brand new feature — ‘Live Event Mode’. So when you watch the big press conferences or any part of our live coverage, you can pre-order games immediately. It’ll also work on any co-stream with the extension active so you can lock in your copy of the game AND support your favorite streamer at the same time. Win-win.
For more on how Amazon Blacksmith works or to learn how to set it up on your channel, you can check out this blog post here.
Don’t miss out
There’s going to be a LOT of stuff going down at E3 and we don’t want you to miss any of it. So make sure you head over to the E3 Event Page and sign up for reminders when we go live. We’ll see you there!
Das ist die Geschichte von einem der meist geliebten X-Men Charaktere, Jean Grey, und wie aus ihr die Ikone DARK PHOENIX wird. Während einer lebensbedrohlichen Rettungsmission im All wird Jean von einer kosmischen Kraft getroffen, die sie in die mächtigste aller Mutanten verwandelt.
Im Kampf mit der zunehmend instabilen Kraft und ihren eigenen Dämonen gerät Jean außer Kontrolle, reißt die X-Men-Familie auseinander und droht, das Gefüge unseres Planeten zu zerstören. Dies ist der intensivste und emotionalste aller bisherigen X-Men-Filme.
Er ist der Höhepunkt der letzten 20 Jahre, in dem die Mutantenfamilie, die wir kennen und lieben gelernt haben, nun ihrem verheerendsten Feind gegenübersteht – einer von ihnen.
Pride month starts now, and everyone is invited to celebrate. In honor of the diverse voices who call Twitch home, we’re doubling down on supporting LGBTQIA+ creators and their communities by featuring a new streamer every day on the homepage. You can check out the full schedule at the end of this post, so tune in and you may discover a new favorite!
Ready to get involved? These are all the ways you can join in:
Shirts for everyone
Limited edition Twitch 2019 Pride Tees are on sale now. We heard your feedback, and we’re excited to expand our tee collection to now include the colors of the Pansexual and Asexual flags. So whether you’re Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Pansexual, Asexual, or an Ally, our collection has you covered!
To purchase, visit our sites below. All proceeds support Twitch Unity, our ongoing Diversity and Inclusion program at Twitch.
**Offered in territories supported by Merch By Amazon. Not eligible for any ongoing promotions or offers. Limited time offer.
Showing your support as a streamer
TheTrevor Project’s research shows that 1.5 million LGBTQ young people are in crisis or consider suicide every year in the United States alone. Your contribution helps them serve more of these young people who need and deserve support.
Here’s how The Trevor Project does good with your donations.
$5 funds 5 minutes of free, confidential crisis counseling for LGBTQ+ youth
$25 helps them train crisis counselors to best serve youth
$50 empowers them to support 1 LGBTQ youth in crisis on text, chat, or phone
$100 supports TrevorSpace, providing a platform for peer support for global LGBTQ youth
If you’re a streamer, you can help by signing up (you’ll need a Tiltify account) to fundraise on Tiltify by clicking here. Raise $500 or more and receive a limited edition “Play for Pride” t-shirt, only available when fundraising for The Trevor Project on Twitch through Tiltify. You can see the shirt at the bottom of the link in this paragraph. If you have any questions or would like to be connected directly with The Trevor Project please reach out to charity@twitch.tv.
Showing your support as a viewer
Show your support for creators, earn exclusive emotes for yourself and your fellow community members, and contribute to Twitch’s donation to The Trevor Project with Pride MegaCheer! From June 4–30, you can MegaCheer by cheering with 200 or more Bits in any Affiliate or Partner channel in a single Cheer.
You’ll earn two of 20 exclusive Pride emotes for yourself and unlock a gift of an emote that other viewers in the channel will receive randomly. The larger the MegaCheer, the greater the number of people that will receive an emote gift. These exclusive emotes can only be used in the month of June 2019. Whenever you use a MegaCheer, we’ll donate $0.10 for every 200 Bits cheered to The Trevor Project, up to a total donation of $150,000.
The creators you support with your Cheers receive the same share of Bits. Twitch is making the donation based on the Bits viewer’s Cheer. Pride MegaCheer starts on June 4 at 11:00AM PT and ends on June 30 at 10:00PM PT. Got more questions? Your answers are here.
Looking for some great channels to support? Check out the full lineup of LGBTQIA+ streamers featured on the homepage all month long.
MermaidUnicorn — Saturday, June 1 at 11am — 1pm PT ZoeyProasheck — Sunday, June 2 at 11am — 1pm PT Delphron — Monday, June 3 at 9am — 11am PT KyleDempsterStudios — Tuesday, June 4 at 2pm — 4pm PT DeadAChek — Wednesday, June 5 at 11am — 1pm PT keekeexbabyy — Thursday, June 6 at 9am — 11am PT Annie — Friday, June 7 at 11am — 1pm PT Angelxoxo — Saturday, June 8 at 6pm — 8pm PT Bengineering — Sunday, June 9 at 12pm — 2pm PT TeaLex — Monday, June 10 at 5pm — 7pm PT KiitLock — Tuesday, June 11 at 6pm — 8pm PT GoldKarat — Wednesday, June 12 at 10am — 12:00pm PT justin_nick — Wednesday, June 12 at 4pm — 6pm PT RandomTuesday — Thursday, June 13 at 11am — 1pm PT Nikatine — Friday, June 14 at 11am — 1pm PT Toph — Saturday, June 15 at 4am — 6am PT FrankThePegasus — Sunday, June 16 at 11am — 1pm PT antphrodite — Monday, June 17 at 3pm — 5pm PT GreenDumpling — Tuesday, June 18 at 11am — 1pm PT EeveeA_ — Wednesday, June 19 at 7am — 9am PT Smajor1995 — Thursday, June 20 at 12pm — 2pm PT DEERE — Friday, June 21 at 5pm — 7pm PT Elix9 — Saturday, June 22 at 4pm — 6pm PT agayguyplays — Sunday, June 23 at 11am — 1pm PT EnglishSimmer — Monday, June 24 at 12pm — 2pm PT KrinxShow — Tuesday, June 25 at 2pm — 4pm PT KatFTWynn — Wednesday, June 26 at 11am — 1pm PT superxinvader — Thursday, June 27 at 3pm — 5pm PT Shamanom — Friday, June 28 at 10am — 12pm PT LittleLegsTV — Saturday, June 29 at 5am — 7am PT HealMeHarry — Sunday, June 30 at 4am — 6am PT
*subject to change, follow creators for potential announcement of changes
Twitch gets involved
Twitch HQ will be joining forces with our Amazon family by marching in San Francisco’s 49th pride parade celebration on June 30. Last year, we had the pleasure of also marching alongside LGBTQIA+ creators like ChipWhiteHouse, DistractedElf and KiwiFails. Look out for the special guests that will be marching with us this year on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
These same special guests will also be joining us of a special Pride edition of Twitch Weekly airing on June 28 at 1:00pm PT. Don’t miss the show at twitch.tv/twitch.
If you’re building an Extension, these features can encourage streamers to adopt your Extension
Twitch Extensions capture the power of the streamer and viewer relationship with a wide range of interactions never before possible on Twitch. In the two years since launch, we’ve seen a set of best-in-class features emerge for driving more interactions and installations.
First, you need to build a great Extension. Make your design one that drives interaction and engagement between streamers and viewers and solves real challenges the Twitch community faces every day.
Next, add features that support streamers in viewers in their quest to interact in meaningful ways on Twitch. Here are nine you need to know about:
Streamers want to know how an Extension works and what it will look like on their channel, because they care a lot about what their community experiences. Since you can’t upload videos to the Discovery Manager, one of the best ways to educate streamers who are interested in installing your Extension is to include a GIF that shows how the Extension will work for viewers.
GIFs are also a helpful way to communicate the live dashboard and configuration experiences for the streamer.
Knowing exactly how to install and set up the Extension, any browser sources required for broadcasting software, and any associated applications to maximize the value of the experience is crucial for getting a streamer to activate your Extension.
Developers such as Altoar with Sound Alerts and Hype Network with Say It Live have added configuration page setup guides and “Help” tabs, so that streamers fully understand how to set up things correctly at the moment of installation.
User feedback is extremely important for gathering information from viewers and streamers to make your Extension better, so make it very easy for your users to contact you.
We suggest adding a “feedback” button or link within the Extension or in a help tab in the streamer configuration page.
The reason you would use a browser source in OBS instead of displaying visuals in the Extension itself is that content in a browser source becomes a shared experience and becomes part of the video recording.
Displaying in the Extension allows for custom visualizations for each viewer, but since an Extension runs on top of the player, this content does not become part of the video for later viewing.
Developers can also create custom animations that can be shown on stream whenever an action is completed, which helps viewers engage more and garner the attention of the streamer.
Chat integration is important because broadcasters want to recognize viewer participation — getting a callout from a streamer is a big reason why viewers subscribe or cheer with Bits on stream.
Whenever a special action is completed, the Extension can post to Chat to both acknowledge the user and draw more attention to the Extension.
Considering much of the current Twitch viewership base is mobile, having mobile versions of Extensions is a crucial part of extending their reach to as many users as possible.
Enabling an Extension for mobile devices is easy; simply add another HTML view to those you already created for the Extension.
For iOS, Extensions developers will have to register for the Apple Developer Program.
Every streamer on Twitch has a different personality, stream format, color scheme, and community. A streamer’s brand is very important to them and because variability is so wide, building in customization tools for an Extension gives your Extension an advantage to scale to a wider audience.
Twitch is international. Streamers stream from all over the world, viewers watch from all over the world, and people use Extensions from all over the world. Viewers can set their language preference on Twitch, and you can detect this through the query parameters and localize your Extension accordingly.
Pricing customization involves two levels of implementation: streamer-side pricing features and viewer-side pricing features.
The streamer-side features should include default pricing suggestions based on similar channel sizes as well as a way for the streamer to define what the pricing of each Bits-related action should be on their channel. Lastly, streamers should be able to set pricing minimums on Bits-related actions for their channel.
The viewer-side features should include a default suggestion for initial Bits usage, but can also include a user interface that allows viewers to choose their own amount. An example of this feature is the Pretzel Rocks Bits calculator, where viewers can collectively compete with each other to make sure their track plays next.
Honorable-mention features for Bits-enabled Extensions
Streamer-side Bits Insights
For Bits-enabled Extensions, you’re more likely to get greater adoption by helping streamers understand what will probably get the most Bits usage. However, it’s not totally necessary for your first Bits-enabled Extension version. A great example of insights for streamers is how Sound Alerts displays sounds by popularity in the configuration view, so they can make informed decisions about which sounds may receive more Bits usage within the Extension.
Extensions now have the Extensions Emotes API, which is now in beta for developers! If you want to integrate Partner, Channel, or Global Twitch Emotes into your Extension, fill out this form and the Emotes team can help you get started!
Have an idea you’d like to explore for an Extension?Start now!
Twitch Prime and Riot Games are teaming up to offer Twitch Prime members four months’ worth of content for League of Legends, beginning today.
Starting today, Prime members can visit twitch.amazon.com/leagueoflegends to claim a Rift Herald’s Capsule containing two random Skin Shards, one random Legendary Skin Shard, and an exclusive Emote. Once members claim the first capsule, they’ll automatically receive another one every 30 days for four months: A Rift Herald’s Capsule, Red Buff’s Capsule, and Blue Buff’s Capsule, followed by a Baron’s Capsule. The final capsule contains a random Permanent Legendary Skin on top of another random Skin Shard and exclusive Emote.
“League of Legends has been one of the most-watched games on Twitch for years, and partnering with Riot to offer four months’ worth of League of Legends loot to members is the kind of amazing content we get really excited about,” said Larry Plotnick, Director, Twitch Prime. “We’re striving to make Prime the absolute best deal in gaming, and we’re off to a big start in 2019 — we’ve already offered our members more than $900 worth of games and content this year. And that’s just the beginning. Stay tuned, because there’s a lot more goodness coming this summer.”
Prime members have until Aug. 28, 2019 to claim their first capsule and enroll in the promotion. Visit www.twitchprime.com to try Twitch Prime for free and claim the latest offers.
What is Twitch Prime?
Twitch Prime is Amazon Prime’s home for gamers, and is included with Prime. Benefits include in-game loot, free games, a free monthly channel subscription on Twitch AND all the benefits of being a Prime member — including unlimited access to award-winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, deep discounts at Whole Foods Market, and unlimited free two-day shipping on more than 100 million items.
You can try it free right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.
Crunchyroll, the world’s most popular anime brand, is teaming up with Twitch Prime to offer members a special loot offering — 30 days of Crunchyroll Premium for free! This Crunchyroll offering will be the first-ever non-gaming loot available for Twitch Prime members! Be sure to get in and grab yours before it’s gone.
Twitch Prime benefits include free games, in-game loot and a Twitch channel subscription every month PLUS all the benefits of being an Amazon Prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.
Check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits in: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. You can try it for free for 30 days right here, and when you do, you unlock access to all Twitch Prime benefits just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon Prime account.
Help Cure Cancer, End Hunger, Raise Awareness with Charity in Extensions
Twitch is proud to recognize three very special Extensions supporting charitable causes on your favorite broadcasters’ streams throughout 2018 and 2019.
Tiltify Donations, DonorDrive’s AFSP Charity Fundraising, and Gamers Beat Cancer by GameChanger unlock the power of Twitch community to drive more donations to charity through engaging and interactive experiences in Extensions. Make the world a better place just by streaming and using Extensions in support of charity.
Tiltify Donations
Take Tiltify, our flagship charity partner for Twitch Extensions.
Leveraging Amazon Pay, they built the first version of a panel Extension that lets broadcasters set up a drive for a cause and track donation progress over time.
A new version of Tiltify Donations adds broadcaster rewards, challenges, and polls to drive more awareness and support from broadcasters’ audiences during a fundraising event.
Tiltify is currently raising funds for St Jude Play Live, a prize month fundraiser, through May 31.
Additionally, May 18 is Tiltify’s official Red Nose Day’s Nose Bowl where Broadcasters and celebrities will join forces between 12PM PST and 5PM PST to raise funds to end child poverty.
“Tiltify was created specifically to help streamers maximize their charity fundraising. We have proudly been used by the streaming community since 2014 and work with over 600 charities in seven countries. We’re available for any of your favorite charities with no sign up fee.” — Tiltify CEO Michael Wasserman
“The Extension essentially activates an Extra Life-themed channel badge that’s connected to the content creator’s fundraising page. [It] allows viewers to donate directly to their local children’s hospital without ever having to leave Twitch. This Twitch Extension is literally saving kids’ lives by connecting Twitch’s passionate community with seamless donation technology!” — Mike Kinney, Managing Director of Digital Fundraising and Children’s Miracle Network
DonorDrive plans to launch support for more charities throughout 2019.
GameChanger
Last but never least is GameChanger. Their most recent drive for American Cancer Society raised tens of thousands of dollars and plenty of awareness for the organization’s sweeping efforts across the United States to raise funds to end cancer.
The developer has big plans for more events in 2019, and you can get behind them with just one click in the GameChanger Charity Extension.
Ready to build interactive experiences like these Extensions on Twitch? Start now!
The Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Extension is driving viewer engagement & building pre-sale buzz months before launch
It’s getting harder and harder to break through the noise and build quality buzz in the months leading up to a games’ launch. Gone are the days when a trailer, high-res screenshot, or a basic gameplay reveal event could drive the type of organic sharing, conversation, or engagement that it might have in years past.
These days, new and highly innovative pre-launch awareness tactics are not merely welcomed but required — and that’s where Twitch and Extensions come in.
Last week, a select group of Twitch streamers had the opportunity to participate in a Borderlands 3 Gameplay Reveal Event, but what made this reveal more buzzworthy and interactive than your typical gameplay reveal event was the accompanying Twitch Extension.
The Borderlands 3 ECHOcast Twitch Extension allows viewers to be an active part of the event where historically they could only sit back and watch. The feature-heavy Extension gives viewers the ability to learn key game skills and techniques by inspecting the contents of the streamers’ backpack, explore their loadout, and study their skill tree.
Taking it a step further, if viewers connect their Twitch and Gearbox SHiFT accounts — they are able to gain in-game loot and grab rare items, giving them a head start on assembling their own arsenal, while also building personal investment and motivation to purchase the game come its September release.
Not all who view the rare chest discovery on stream are winners of the rare items, the Extension coordinates a randomized drawing giving only a portion of the viewers the take-home, which undoubtedly keeps viewers watching and engaging longer.
“Streaming has become an important part of the game industry and as game developers, we should consider how our game designs leverage streaming both before and after launch. Twitch provides an endless amount of opportunities for us to build streamer and viewer features, some of which they might not have even realize they want until they use them!”
-Scott Velasquez, Lead Online & Social Developer at Gearbox
Based on the wildly active Twitch Chat, it was clear the viewers enjoyed the Extension — but what do streamers think of the interactive experience? Here’s a clip of King Gothalion giving his own unfiltered feedback (spoiler alert; he’s a fan.)
More and more game publishers are putting additional time, effort, and creativity into their pre-launch building buzz phaseto capture that much-needed element of viewer engagement and participation — and that’s where Twitch is very comfortably positioned to be utilized.
Looking for other tips or ideas for launching your game on Twitch? Check out our Game Developer Playbook for all that and much more.
5 Mental Health Tips for Online Content Creators By Ross Kerr, The National Alliance on Mental Illness
Creating content and connecting with an online audience presents unique challenges. The level of consistency and engagement required to maintain your brand and following can be demanding. It can also be difficult to navigate between personal and work life when they are so often mixed. Aspects of the work that usually bring personal fulfillment may at times feel like a stressful, overwhelming grind.
If you feel the stress you’re facing is negatively affecting you, there are ways you can improve your mental health.
Connect with Social Supports
Life doesn’t have to be single-player — and it shouldn’t be. Connection is such an important aspect of mental health. Reaching out to others who have shared experiences can help build a network of support and fight loneliness. Another approach is seeking out a mentor who understands the unique challenges of what you do. This person can be a listening ear when times are hard. They can help you overcome difficult situations and feel more equipped for the challenges ahead.
Establish Set Coping Methods
There may be days when your internet connection slows down to a halt or a piece of content you just made accidentally gets deleted. Situations like this can make anyone feel frustrated. It’s important to consider your coping skills for when things don’t go as planned. Coping skills such as deep breathing, reading or exercise can help you release stress and gain perspective on these tough moments.
Set Your Office Hours
Content creation often means working long hours. There’s no one telling you to go home, especially since you are most likely already at home. Setting definitive work hours can help you create a structure that allows for time to unplug, which can significantly reduce stress. It can also help you to feel more refreshed during your set work hours. And as a bonus, having a regular schedule where your audience can expect you to livestream or post content can also contribute towards building an engaged community.
Prioritize a Hobby
For many working in this space, their hobby has turned into a career. But it’s important to have a positive outlet that doesn’t have the pressure of a career, something that is just for fun and just for you. Pursuing new hobbies or making time for old ones can provide a much-needed distraction. Whether it’s playing “Magic: The Gathering” at the local comic shop or going rock climbing, the change of focus can help take your mind off work-related stress.
Take A Break
If you find yourself pushing through every day and feeling less inspired or overwhelmed: take a break. Whether it’s 30 minutes to get a breather or a week-long vacation, breaks are essential. Work can be hard, but it shouldn’t be painful. While there can be pressure to stay connected in order to build or maintain a following, it’s not as important as your mental health, and you need to set your own limits. Also, taking a step back gives you the opportunity to evaluate what you can change to feel better long-term.
Keep in mind that experiencing these challenges is not a failure. You should never blame yourself for having concerns about your mental health. And whether these challenges are a part of your full-time job or a side gig after work, you are not facing them alone.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
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