After launching in beta in December, the new broadcasting feature for Steam is now available to all users. Much like the massively popular Twitch — which was scooped up by Amazon last year — Steam now lets you broadcast and watch other people play games from within the Steam client. You can use it to watch your friends play, as well as other users who have opted to make their streams public.
Steam’s Twitch-style broadcasting feature is now live
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
This kind of broadcasting has become particularly popular thanks to the rise of e-sports. Twitch is currently the biggest name in the business, and as of last year it surpassed 1 million monthly broadcasters, while reportedly being sought by the likes of YouTube before eventually landing with Amazon. Steam parent company Valve, meanwhile, just so happens to make one of the most popular e-sport games around with Dota 2, which already lets you stream in-game action from within the game.
With a focus on ease of use — all you have to do to use broadcasting is click on a friend and choose “watch game” — Valve will be hoping to open up the idea of game streaming to a whole new audience. You can check the feature out now in the latest Steam update.
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