Friday saw Google enter an unprecedented arms race with the release of YouTube Gaming, a new service which will centre on both video games and gaming communities.
With YouTube Gaming, Google looks to go head-to-head with other popular platforms, most notably Amazon’s Twitch video streaming platform.
Ryan Watt, the head of content at YouTube Gaming said from a press conference in Los Angeles stated that “YouTube is the best video game site out there… but we never built gamers the experience they deserve.”
Google’s aim is to capitalise on the immense popularity of gaming videos within YouTube as marketers increasingly look to reach new audiences through casual gaming and e-sports.
The YouTube Gaming service will have pages for more than 25,000 games, and will also centre on the use of live streaming where game show hosts are able to either broadcast gaming or discussion footage.
New features due to be implemented shortly will include improvements that enable gamers to share content more easily; including the ability to schedule broadcasts ad-lib instead of through a scheduled slot.
Google isn’t the only service making forays into gaming; Amazon purchased Twitch.tv last year for $970 million USD, while Facebook acquired the Oculus virtual reality headset for approximately $2 billion USD.
A gaming specific service isn’t Google’s first attempt at a focussed YouTube; the company released YouTube Kids, a child-friendly variant of the site, earlier this year.
YouTube Gaming will be available on both Android (through an app) and the web. The service is expected to launch this summer, with release in the United States and the United Kingdom. The news arrives shortly ahead of E3 – the Electronic Entertainment Expo – which begins tomorrow.
