Twitch is bringing their game to mobile. The popular play-and-broadcast service just announced an SDK for mobile, which could allow players to broadcast live as well as upload their game play. It’s a new twist to gaming in general, and a strong indication of the strength of mobile gaming.
Though the service isn’t new, bringing it to mobile is. If you’re wondering how it will be accomplished, it’s actually pretty simple. The screen can be captured via the SDK, and the front-facing camera will let viewers see the reaction of the gamer. Audio can be captured on the microphone, and broadcast quality can also be controlled. The full list of features, as noted on the Twitch press release:
• The ability to capture and broadcast gameplay video and audio
• Video capture from the front-facing camera
• Audio capture using an internal or external microphone
• Videos can be archived for immediate viewing on Twitch and uploaded for sharing
• Broadcast quality can be toggled between High, Medium, and Low settings
• Robust chat options including emoticons badges and chat colors
• The easy discovery of related broadcasts from other gamers
The ability to take full advantage of these tweaks depends on the Developer, though. We expect that some features may not make it to those time wasters we love so much. Clash of Clans, though — we’d expect to see the full suite of functionality there. Twitch has announced this to celebrate 10 million downloads of their mobile app, where we can currently see those PC and console games being played. We hope that to celebrate this SDK, they update the app, which looks a touch dated in 2014.
Interested developers should find their way to Twitch’s Developer site for details. The SDK is available for both iOS and Android, giving us as users more exposure to those cross-platform games. It is also neat to see real-world play when you might otherwise spend money to check a game out.
Praise Lord Helix.