Facebook takes on Amazon's Twitch as it makes moves into video game livestreaming
Facebook has inked a deal with World of Warcraft and Overwatch maker, Blizzard Entertainment, which will allow video game fans to livestream their playing experience on their news feed.
The announcement continues the social network’s first foray into the gaming and eSports market since it launched its real-time streaming service Facebook Live. Despite rival YouTube launching its own dedicated gaming app last year, the space has long been dominated by Amazon-owned Twitch.
In offering this service to its 1.6 billion users, Facebook will likely be looking to take a slice of Twitch’s 100 million user-strong market share by offering gamers a larger audience to share their screens with.
The integration with Blizzard will kick off by offering users the option to login with Facebook and share in-game content with their friends, who will be able to leave real-time comments underneath the game play. It will be available on the entertainment brand’s newly released title Overwatch.
Last month, the games studio announced that it was partnering with Facebook to help boost its Major League Gaming TV (MLG.TV) channel audience . The deal will see the channel launch new content and broadcast experiences on the platform. At the time, Facebook’s head of global sports partnerships, Dan Reed said that eSports was “an exciting space” and “growing priority” for the social network.