Facebook to launch streaming platform to compete against Twitch

A photo of the Facebook logo with the silhouette of a manREUTERS/Dado Ruvic

With all the games coming, whether on its official release or on its beta, it is not be surprising to see numerous gamers streaming these games on Twitch. Given the growing popularity of the game streaming platform, Facebook is apparently launching their own streaming platform to go against Twitch.

Facebook is one of the, if not, the biggest social media platform today, so it would not be surprising for them to suppose that gamers have Facebook accounts. Apparently, Facebook plans to take advantage of this and introduce another avenue for these gamers to share their play throughs.

This time, with what Facebook calls their Gaming Creator Pilot Program, gamers can properly stream their games. It will allow gamers to livestream in at most 1080p while running on 60fps. Monetization options will also soon be made, as well some other features which will mainly depend on streamers' feedback for the program.

"For gaming creators, we've seen Facebook Live become particularly impactful," reads the official blog post. "It's changed how people come together around video, and it gives gaming creators the chance to build and connect with their community in real time." They also provided a sign up sheet in the post for those who are interested in joining the "beta" of a program.

On surface level, it may make sense to put Facebook, where people are already connecting, and allow them to stream their games to their friends. It would then seem easier to build a viewership starting with their Facebook friends.

There is not much of a official release date for it, but the blog post did say that they will "plan to make Facebook gaming creators a centerpiece of our presence, starting with PAX East in April."

Interested gamers who find Twitch to be saturated should then tune in for future updates.