Twitch Bits in Extensions Bring New Monetization Opportunities for Devs and Creators
Bits In Extensions gives streamers another way to enhance the interactive element of their content while earning the cherished Bits.
The competition for livestream platform dominance continues and, today, Twitch announces a new way to increase the versatility of its Bits monetization mechanic. From now on, developers and content creators can customize Extensions so that they accept Bits. This opens the door even further for community engagement by adding more layers to a stream and adds another handful of incentives for users to spend money on Bits.
Bits, up until this point, have been used by viewers to support streamers via a “Cheer” in streams. Animated emotes accompany these Cheers and, the more a viewer uses, the bigger the emotes get. Some streamers even have trackers for the top cheers throughout a stream or all-time.
“Our mission at Twitch is to help our community make a living on our service doing what they love, and that includes both content creators and developers,” said Jeffrey Chow, Product Manager of Extensions at Twitch, in the press release for the announcement. “We built Extensions to best serve what Twitch is best known
Twitch's Extensions were introduced in August 2017, creating more dynamic livestreams by adding polls, games, and other elements for the benefit of viewers. Extensions like a queue to join a streamer’s multiplayer game and one that adds virtual throwable items will be Bits-enabled. Twitch also shared these specific Bit-enabled Extension highlights in the press release:
- Tilted Trivia by Sliver.tv: Test viewers’ video game knowledge with thousands of custom trivia questions related to the game on stream. Many will enter, but only one will remain. At launch, Tilted Trivia will include support for Fortnite, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto V, and Hearthstone.
- OneView by Esports One: League of Legends fans can put their powers of prediction on the line. With the OneView Extension, viewers can vote on when First Blood will happen, which team will take the first Dragon, and more. Real-time predictions, leaderboards, and persistent rank tracking
means all viewers will see who knows the LoL scene best. Poll by iPowow: The perfect way to help out or comically hinder a favorite streamer.Poll is built to let viewers guide what the streamer does next. Which weapon should they buy? Which map should they choose? Now it’s up to the fans.- Bit Arcade by Doborog Games: The Yo Dawg meme was almost resurrected for this one. Sometimes, when watching a game, a viewer just needs to play a game themselves. Bit Arcade lets viewers play arcade-inspired classics, right on stream, and compete with other viewers for a high score.
- Rock Paper Bits by Maestro: No need to mess with the classics. With Rock Paper Bits, streamers can start an impromptu Rock Paper Scissors tournament. Once they’re in, it’s a hand-to-hand battle down to the last person standing.
As of today, April 23, 2018, all Twitch partners and affiliates with Bits-enabled channels are eligible to install these new Extensions on their Twitch channels. Be sure to follow the official Shacknews Twitch and stay tuned for more updates.
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replyCharles Singletary posted a new article, Twitch Bits in Extensions Bring New Monetization Opportunities for Devs and Creators
