TwitchCon 2024 features a new platform design, stories with video clips, and 4K broadcasts

Twitch has announced new programs and features for its platform as part of its annual TwitchCon 2024 event, a set of new features that, in addition to a redesign of the mobile app, will allow users to broadcast in 4K, create new Stories with video clips and find new communities with similar interests in the new Creators Club.

This year’s event took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on June 29 and 30, with a kick-off where the platform’s CEO, Dan Clancy, shared details about the product roadmap, new updates, and new community programs coming soon.

During the event, the company also expressed its intention to continue working to create a “meaningful” community where users “are who they want to be.” To do so, it announced new features and experiences that will allow this sense of belonging to the community to be deepened, as well as “creating more ways for people to meet.”

One of the new features announced was the redesign of the Twitch mobile app, which is intended to make it easier for viewers to catch up with their favorite streamers, as well as discover new ones, according to a statement.

Although most users consume Twitch content from their computer, 70 percent of new viewers prefer to view content from their smartphones, an option that is increasingly accepted by users.

The company has therefore updated the mobile app so that when it is opened, a preview of the live broadcasts will appear at that moment, making it easier to choose between one or another to start viewing content. This selection will thus be personalised based on the users’ tastes.

Stories from different content creators will also appear at the top of the feed, and by swiping left on the app’s main screen, users will be able to access an exclusive video clip tab.

A follow button with a heart icon has also been added to the top left of the screen. After clicking it, a list of the channels that the user follows and those that are broadcasting live will appear, just like on the web.

Some of these new features began to be tested with a limited group of users at the end of May this year, and since then, numerous updates have been released to improve performance. Twitch has also indicated that it continues to work on new features for the application and that it will share more details in the coming weeks.

News in stories and clips

Twitch has also announced that users will now be able to create Stories using video clips. This option has begun to be rolled out to the platform’s partners this week and will be available to affiliates “later this summer.”

Twitch has also announced that Stories will also be available to view from the platform’s web version in the coming months. This will allow creators to stay in touch through Stories no matter where their content is viewed from.

As for clips, the company has indicated that it is improving the process of creating these short videos, making it “easier than ever.” Now, when a new clip is created, a portrait (horizontal) version and a landscape (vertical) version will be automatically generated, making it easier for streamers to edit, title and save videos in both formats “in a single step.”

That is, horizontal clips will be able to play content on mobile platforms, such as the Discovery Feed, while vertical clips will remain the default for the desktop version of Twitch.

Twitch has also announced that Twitch Enhanced Streaming is now available to all streamers working with the latest version of OBS Studio, which will allow the transmission and viewing of content in 4K quality. This format, by the way, “lays the foundation for better technology that everyone can benefit from” with advanced codecs such as HEVC and AV1 and 1400p/4K resolution.

Stream Together

During the event, the company also noted that “in a few weeks” they will launch a new feature for the Stream Together tool on Twitch, with which streamers will be able to connect with other streamers who are sharing live content, without having to carry out any prior configuration or planning.

To do so, streamers who want to join the live broadcast will only have to propose it to the creator of the stream and, once accepted, an audio connection will be started in both broadcasts. This option is also available with a video call. In this case, the firm has said that streamers will be able to decide at any time who can request to join, as well as deny or pause the requests.

Creators and achievements club for ‘streamers”

Finally, as part of TwitchCon 2024, the company has also introduced Creator Clubs, a new program that will help streamers find communities around shared interests.

These clubs will be open to both affiliates and partners and will focus on creator content. Club members will have exclusive access to a dedicated Discord server, where they can connect with other creators in their community. They will also have access to resources, channels to request support, and a library of toolkits on engagement, monetization, and content development strategies. Twitch has launched two global clubs so far, the DJ Club and the IRL Club. However, it has stressed that more clubs will be launched at the end of July.

Twitch has also introduced the Streamer Achievement Program, a program that recognizes streamers who have dedicated their careers to building a community on Twitch. These content creators will be honored with the Bleep Purple statue.

Specifically, the purple statue will be offered to streamers with 5 million hours watched, a marble one for 50 million hours watched, and a chrome one for 250 million hours watched.