Twitch Unveils ‘Versus,’ Which Lets Anyone Create, Manage, And Livestream Their Own Esports Competition

Twitch is currently beta testing Versus, a suite of tools that–once debuted–will allow any user to organize and livestream their own esports competition.

“The next wave of professional esports players are out there right now, hustling to rise to the next level,” the platform wrote in a blog post. “We understand not all competition organizers have the tools or resources needed to host esports tournaments and it’s important to us to ensure we’re empowering organizers and players of all sizes and skill levels.”

Versus lets users create custom landing pages for events, player registration forms, and competition brackets. Landing pages display competitions’ names, game being played, date and time info, brackets, lists of competitors, and up-to-date standings. Twitch didn’t go into specifics about what tools the suite offers for broadcasts, but it’s likely organizers will be set up for standard things like looping in sportscasters and swapping between player point-of-view shots throughout tournaments.

For now, Versus is in closed beta with a group of collegiate esports leagues, game developers, and Twitch creators, the platform said. Closed beta will continue “over the coming months” so Twitch can test whether Versus is “capable of handling competitions, both complex and casual.”

Those interested in joining the beta can sign up for its waitlist here.