Twitch. the largest game streaming platform, has today announced that is launching a premium subscription-based service for its users called ‘Twitch Prime’. The subscription is essentially a part(or extension) of the Amazon Prime service which allows you to avail discounts and shipping benefits on your online purchases.
The game streaming and community platform was picked up by Amazon in 2014, and it is only now that the two are integrating and debuting services for the benefit of the users. Just yesterday, Amazon has announced the launch of its first set of Twitch-compatible games and is today introducing benefits of the Prime service curated for the gaming platform.
Twitch Prime, which will come as part of the Amazon Prime subscription, will provide you with a premium ad-free viewing experience of livestreams; a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot; and exclusive discounts on pre-order and new release games. The first game up for grabs via this service is the new Hearthstone Priest hero: Tyrande Whisperwind. This subscription will also include a free monthly stream subscription, which you can pass onto your favorite streamer. These features are esentially similar to the YouTube Red subscription service.
Commenting on the launch of the Prime subscription, Emmett Shear, CEO of Twitch, in a press release said,
Twitch Prime is one of those unique cases where we have an opportunity to build a product that is equally great for all of our customers: streamers, viewers, and game developers.
Offering subscriptions free through Prime saves money for viewers, while supporting streamers to build their community. Free games and in-game content are always a hit with gamers, but they also let developers reach millions of new potential players.
Twitch Prime, which will cost you $10.99 a month or $100 a year(in U.S.), is currently being made available in U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
In addition, Twitch is now out to deal a final blow to its arch-rival YouTube Gaming. How you ask?
The company had previously restricted the gamers to only stream games and interact with their community, but they’ll now also be able to upload content on the platform. It is the one feature that gamers, and users have both been requesting for years. The gamers will now be able to piece together their previous gameplays, fails, trolls and best moments to create compilations and upload for the pleasure of their viewers.
It is also some add-on features across all of its platform, such as the ability to create and share clips using mobile apps, new video quality options, loyalty badges for subscriptions, Curse Voice with Twitch integration, and HTML5 for everyone.
