Twitch to Sell Games Through Players’ Streams This Spring

Twitch will begin selling games directly to viewers through the streaming service this Spring, the company announced today.

A “Buy Now” button will appear under the main stream’s window for viewers to buy the game that is currently be played. All games or in-game items purchased through Twitch can be downloaded through the service’s desktop launcher or through existing publisher services like Ubisoft’s UPlay. These are the only supported apps at launch.

The purchase offer appears for any streamer playing a game in the program, but only partnered streamers will receive a 5% revenue from every game purchase made from their page. Viewers who spend more than $4.99 also receive a free Twitch crate that comes with randomized streamer-specific chat badges, emotes, or Bits which can be given to streamers for “cheer.”

Developers partnering with Twitch at launch include Ubisoft, Telltale Games, Digital Extremes, Hi Rez Studios, Double Fine Games, Campo Santo, Fred Wood, Paradox Interactive, 11Bit, Jackbox Games, tinyBuild, Devolver Digital, Raw Fury, Gambitious, Trion Worlds, iNK Stories, Versus Evil, Blue Mammoth Games, Proletariat, and Vlambeer. No company has not announced any games that will take advantage of this service, though Ubisoft’s The Division and Ghost Recon Wildlands have been used as examples in promotional material.

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