Twitch is rolling out its new TikTok-like Discovery Feed later this month, joining a growing cohort of tech companies taking design tips from the popular video sharing app. While select users have had access to Twitch’s scrollable video feed test since August last year, the Amazon-owned streaming platform is now finally ready to release the feature to all its mobile users.
Detailed in Twitch’s Patch Notes livestream on Wednesday, the new Discover Feed is only available in Twitch’s mobile app, and will actually consist of two separate feeds: a Live Feed and a Clips Feed. Users will be able to switch between the two via buttons at the top of the screen, similarly to switching between your Following and For You feeds on TikTok.
What is Twitch’s new Live Feed?
As the name suggests, Twitch’s Live Feed will show live footage from accounts that are actively streaming at the same time you’re scrolling through the Discovery Feed. Streams will be collated both from accounts you follow and ones recommended by Twitch’s algorithm based on your viewing history.
“A majority of our viewers do want to discover someone new to watch, but it’s not super easy to do right now without spending a ton of time browsing streams or sitting through ads,” Twitch’s Jess Sung said during Twitch’s stream. “This is meant to help you find something quickly to watch without having to sit through a pre roll ad before you even know if that content is something you’re gonna like.”
As the name suggests, Twitch’s Live Feed will show live footage from accounts that are actively streaming at the same time you’re scrolling through the Discovery Feed.
The feeds will still have ads, but just like TikTok they will be scrollable, allowing you to quickly flick past them.
If you see content in the feed that catches your interest, you can tap on the streamer’s avatar to start watching the livestream. Sung also stated that Twitch is working on an update that will allow you to join a livestream simply by tapping the screen.
What is Twitch’s new Clips Feed?
Meanwhile, Twitch’s Clips Feed will show short videos taken from past broadcasts. Twitch already allows users to extract short segments from their livestreams to feature on their pages, known as Clips. The new Clips Feed will serve such videos to users, essentially allowing viewers to see the highlights of creator’s broadcasts.
The Clips Feed will also display whether or not the streamer is live, and allow you to join their livestream if they are.
Twitch’s Clips Feed will show short videos taken from past broadcasts.
While streamers can’t upload videos directly to the Discovery Feed, the algorithm will prioritise clips that are Featured on their profiles. All livestreams and clips which adhere to Twitch’s content guidelines are automatically eligible to appear in the Discovery Feed, including mature games and profanity, though Sung stated that “some mature content types” will be restricted. The Discovery Feed will also still show users creators they follow who have used Twitch’s Content Classification Labels.
Sung also stated that this isn’t the end for changes to Twitch’s mobile app, hinting that it may soon look even more like TikTok.
“Next month some users might see the feed as the home page of the app instead of seeing it in the feed tab,” said Sung. “Over time as we work toward redesigning our mobile app… you might see more experiments and changes to the feed and the mobile viewing experience.”
