Twitch Changes the Mobile Game With Live Streaming

Twitch has announced the first ever mobile game to feature its live streaming functionality.

Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne — a mobile arcade racing game where players race against AI or other players — for iOS is getting the honor. The mobile streamer will be able to utilize most of the same hosting features available on PC and consoles like the Xbox One and the PS4, including broadcasting voice and video for commentary purposes and using the built-in microphone and front-facing camera of any iOS device.

It’s a big announcement from Twitch, a company that provides a popular streaming platform — where peak Internet traffic beats Hulu, Facebook and Amazon — for broadcasters playing PC games, console games and, now, mobile games. Though the current mobile gaming landscape is small compared to the PC and console audiences, Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham, an eSports veteran and Twitch’s senior manager of partnerships, sees parallels between the early stages of console and mobile streaming. (Graham has played and broadcasted video games professionally for over eight years.) Read more...