Twitch is getting into a new market: selling video games. The company will start selling games and in-game content through its service this spring, it announced today, allowing viewers to buy titles from publishers both big and independent through its streamers? channels.
Owned by Amazon, Twitch
video-game streaming site Twitch Interactive will begin selling games and features in the coming months, furthering its evolution from an online gathering spot for enthusiasts into a commerce hub for the $100 billion industry.
Twitch streams competitions featuring professional gamers, letting viewers chat alongside the action, react with emojis and pose questions. The site now will let its 10 million daily viewers download games and game features such as characters, weapons and tools while they watch their favorite streamers.
Twitch viewers will be inspired to download games and purchase features while watching their favorite players use them, said Matt McCloskey, Twitch?s vice president of commerce, a new position created in November. It?s similar to a basketball fan buying a pair of Nike sneakers from the LeBron James collection after watching the Cleveland Cavaliers star hit a game-winning shot. If video game fans see something they like on Twitch, they should be able to purchase it at that moment, McCloskey said.
?We?re playing with the idea of social commerce, because Twitch is a social platform,? said McCloskey, who spent 18 years working on video games with Microsoft. ?Ultimately, the principle is if you can watch it on Twitch, you can buy it on Twitch.?
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