Steam is widely considered the de facto PC gaming marketplace, but there are others looking for their piece of the pie. Competitors like Origin and the Microsoft's marketplace have tried to get in on the action, and popular game streaming service Twitch has just announced that they, too, will be getting in on the video game selling market. This coming spring, the website will begin selling games directly to viewers.
Streamers who partner with Twitch to promote a certain game will get 5% of the sale from games sold on their channel. Game developers will get 70% and Twitch will likely keep the remaining 25% of the purchase. As an incentive for consumers, the purchase will also come with a Twitch Crate that includes chat emotes and other novelty items relating to the game.
Twitch already has a huge user base with millions of visitors each day. Having a great streamer promote the game and getting the audience interested in playing it themselves seems like a golden marketing strategy for Twitch and publishers as well. Big names like Ubisoft and Paradox Interactive have already signed deals to sell their games, but others like EA, Activision, and Square Enix were absent from the list.
Some Twitch's most popular games including Counter Strike: Global-Offensive were also missing, but more content is expected to come in the future.
This new move could strengthen ties between game studios and streamers to produce sponsored content or otherwise incentivize viewers to purchase the game. Twitch is also planning to incorporate purchases with the Twitch Launcher to provide a more seamless gaming experience.