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Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv) is a website and mobile app (collectively called a “platform”) where gamers can create their own livestream channels to play video games live. Viewers watch the channels and comment on the game play in the channel’s chat room.

Livestream game channels on Twitch

Why would anyone watch someone else play a game? Because when you like a game, you want to watch someone who is good at it so you can learn strategy and technique. Because you’re not just watching that person play a game, you’re chatting with a bunch of other people who also like that game, and it’s fun to talk with people who have common interests. Because sometimes the gamer will play against the viewers.

Mostly, because it’s fun.

Why would anyone bother to livestream their gaming? Because they love video games and want to play them for (and sometimes with) other people who love them. Because they are really good and have strategies and techniques to share. Because they are just OK but have a great personality that makes you want to watch. Because it’s fun to share and talk about what you like to do with people who also like it.

Mostly, because it’s fun.

You may have picked up that what’s really happening here is community. It’s not just the game being played, it’s all the conversation around the game that makes people come back. It’s the interactivity between the gamer and the viewers and between the viewers themselves that makes the viewers feel included.

The twist is that Twitch has gamified community. Much like games have virtual currency you pay real money for and virtual goods you can buy in-game with that currency, so does the Twitch platform. On Twitch, virtual currency is called Bits. You can spend Bits on virtual gifts for the streamer or donate Bits directly to the streamer as a sort of tip. The money the viewer spends is shared by Twitch with the gamer the viewer spent it on. Viewers can also pay with a credit card to subscribe to the streamer’s channel, and they get perks and recognition on the stream for doing so.

Buying anything during a livestream is optional, but because the viewers are having fun and want to see the gamer play regularly, they will often pay for subscriptions and virtual goods because it supports the gamer they like.