Any video game enthusiast, or simply a casual player, will tell you that online game streaming is something that they desire to do. However, the truth is establishing a stream on any platform is usually an uphill task and not for the faint-hearted. It is possible, though.
Video game streaming involves the real-time sharing of the games you play and your real-time reactions with a remote audience. It gives players the experience that they have spectators cheering them on as they compete against their opponents.
There are several streaming platforms available online at the moment. These include YouTube Gaming on mobile devices, and the most popular one, Twitch. Read on to learn how you can stream games online with Twitch.
What Is Twitch?
Twitch is a live video streaming service. It was established in 2011 and is based in the U.S. and operated by Twitch Interactive, which is a subsidiary company of Amazon.
It is a site dedicated to video game live streaming. They also broadcast e-sports competitions, selected music, and creative content. Recently, they introduced “in real life” streams. Viewers can access content on the site either live or on-demand.
The popularity of this platform grew steadily and even surpassed its previous counterpart, and by 2013, it had more than 45 million viewers. By 2014, it was actually considered as the 4th largest source for peak internet traffic in the U.S.
Currently, it has got more than 100 million viewers, and the numbers keep rising. It has remained to be the leading live streaming video service in the U.S.
How to Stream Your Games on Twitch
You can stream any game you are playing on the site regardless of the gaming device that you are playing on. Whether you are playing on your PC, Android, iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation 4.
Basic Requirements
These are the most basic things you need to have in order for you to start an effective stream. You must ensure that you have a fully functional gaming device, an external microphone, a headset, a clear webcam, internet, a twitch account, and one or several game titles.
Get a Twitch Account
First, you must sign up for a Twitch account. This key is what you will use to link and stream to your unique profile from the broadcasting apps that Twitch recommends. Do not share this unique key with anyone as anyone who gets your key can access your channel and stream on it.
Set Up OBS
OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is an open-source, free video recording and streaming application that is compatible with Twitch. This app can record and save the video in a file or stream it live on Twitch or other platforms, like YouTube gaming.
Also, it captures scenes from your webcam and microphone sounds that you make. Once you download and install OBS, then you are ready to go. The app will organize your screencasts into scenes and sources.
For a beginner, relying on the default settings will help you understand how the site works as you progressively develop your streaming skills. In the market, you can find alternative OBS for windows and for macOS.
Conclusion
With the above steps, you will be ready to stream your very first game through Twitch. However, after doing all the steps above, you will need to add a game capture source to your scene.
This you can do by right-clicking in the sources box and selecting “Add capture game”. An option will pop up asking you to select or create a source. Make sure to consider this information if you are interested in online game streaming.
