Twitch has announced a new way to increase the usefulness of its Bits monetization mechanic for its convoy of streamers and third-party software developers. It is combining two core features–Bits and Extensions– to enable this new system. Through this, developers and content creators will be able to customize Extensions so that they will accept Bits. These tools comprise of on-stream mini-games and interactive features like polls. Through this new arrangement, broadcasters will get 80 percent of the revenue, and the extensions’ developers will receive the remaining 20 percent. Developers will need to be invited to develop monetized Extensions in a new beta program, which will tender a total of 30 Bits-enable Extensions at the launch today.
Bits, which were launched in 2016, are digital goods that can be bought and used to ‘Cheer’ for creators. They appear as gem-shaped emojis within the chat box. Extensions, which were launched last year, are interactive overlays, for example, leaderboards and polls which were made by developers that creators can incorporate into their channel pages to stimulate engagement.
For example, an Extension known as Bits Voting Studio, by the developer iPowow, will enable viewers to spend Bits to cast a vote on what kind of actions a streamer should take mid-play. These would include what weapons to buy or which maps to select. Another example would be of an Extension known as Bit Arcade, by Doborog Games, which enable viewers to transact Bits to games which are arcade-inspired classics, and they would be able to compete with fellow viewers to achieve a high score at the same time a stream is live.
All the partners and affiliates of Twitch who have Bits-enabled channels will be eligible to include the new Extensions. The feature can be found in the Extensions Manager on channel dashboards in the ‘In-Extensions Bits’ tab.
“Our mission at Twitch is to help our community make a living on our service doing what they love, and that includes both content creators and developers,” Extensions product manager, Jeffrey Chow, said in a statement. “We built Extensions to best serve what Twitch is best known for: community interactions. By enabling revenue generation from Extensions, developers can make more of them, which ultimately opens up more interactive possibilities and monetization methods for content creators.”
