Microsoft rebrands gaming livestream app Beam as Mixer to shore up its assault on Twitch
Microsoft has rebranded its video game live-streaming service to help it penetrate market leading alternatives from Amazon’s Twitch and Google’s YouTube.
Mixer will offer streaming services much like its rivals, but is upping the stakes with four way streams and what it said was in actual real time, not suffering from their supposed 10 – 20 second delays. Furthermore, it will provide a cross platform apporach to streaming and will integrate with existing Windows services.
Matt Salsamendi, co-founder and engineering lead at Mixer, said the name change was a “tough decision,” but “it was something that we decided on as a team".
He added: “We believe so much in the power of the platform and want to grow it in every major market around the world. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something we could do with the Beam name.
"This gets to the heart of what Mixer means for us. We want to empower gamers and everyone who wants to share their passion – whatever it may be – to create and share more easily than ever before across PC, console and mobile. Mixer represents our vision for the next generation of multiplayer – watching and participating alongside your friends in gameplay streaming from anywhere in the world."
It is currently accessible on Xbox One to certain users and will run out across the Windows 10, Android and Apple ecosystems.
Based in Seattle, the service has been in play since the start of 2016.