In a move that at first sounds surprising, then expected, Twitch will be launching its own ecommerce platform this year in the form of selling PC games via the streaming service. As reported at GamesIndustry.biz, the streaming giant will give 70% of the sale to the game makers, 5% to the streamer who sells it, and presumably will take the final 25% for themselves.
This is interesting, because it then encourages developers to be their own streamers and get 75% of the sale as opposed to the customary Steam 70%. Will 5% be enough to get more and more developers and publishers on-board? Given the sheer amount of interest and sales driven by livestreams and video already, I’d wager so.
In a quick interview with GI.biz, Twitch’s Robin Fontaine (Marketing Manager for ECommerce) had this to say:
“We see PC gaming as an open ecosystem and want Twitch Games Commerce to operate in that spirit,” Fontaine says. “We absolutely believe that our platform is additive to publishers’ own distribution methods. We want to partner with them to extend their reach beyond their existing clients to help them more directly reach their audience on Twitch.”
She continues: “Gamers are already coming to Twitch to discover and learn about games they want to buy. Developers are looking for ways to tap into this audience and offer content when they are most engaged. Twitch Games Commerce shortens the cycle between discovery and purchase.”
TellTale Games, Hi-Rez Studios, Trion Worlds, Ubisoft, and more have already jumped on the bandwagon, and while there’s no “Steam-like” storefront planned as of yet, if the sales grow to be large enough, it’s not off the table. Would you buy a game recommended by a favorite streamer? If you saw us at GameSpace.com streaming and “selling” a game (or at MMORPG.com) would you buy it to support us with 5% of the sale? Interesting times we live in, folks.
