At its annual gathering, Twitch announced a revolutionary change: Streamers are getting the ability to rotate their broadcasts by 90 degrees. The arrival of vertical live streaming, announced at the TwitchCon event in Rotterdam, will bring Twitch content in line with rival platforms like TikTok.
Vertical live streams will make Twitch more streamlined for those watching from their mobile devices. Changing the orientation of the device will change the layout of the active stream; in other words, mobile Twitch viewers who want to revert to the classic horizontal mode only need to turn their phones to the side.
Notably, the vertical streams will not replace Twitch’s horizontal format. Streamers will be able to go live in both orientations at once, and a partnership with Aitum Vertical will enable dual-format broadcasting through the popular app OBS.
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In a blog post, Twitch claimed that its dual-format streams will allow creators to better harness some of the platform’s monetization features. “The new vertical layout makes it easier for viewers to participate in events like Hype Trains and support you by subbing, gifting, and cheering while watching your stream in full screen,” reads the post. “They’ll also be able to customize chat to have more control over how much chat they see on screen.”
On TikTok, vertical streams have become quite lucrative for creators. The format’s sales figures are set to jump to $77 billion by 2027. Twitch owner Amazon has long coveted a piece of that pie. It rolled out a TikTok-like feed called Inspire in 2023 and brought a similar Discovery feed to Twitch a year later.
Those efforts, however, have mostly been uninspiring (no pun intended). Despite Amazon’s best efforts, TikTok is gaining on Twitch in the streaming universe.
Like Meta, Amazon has tried reaching into its deep pockets to build a community of vertical creators, but the new Twitch format feels more like a YouTube-style strategy in the way it harnesses a vast creator network. Twitch already accounts for far more streaming hours than its competitors. Now, it’s trying to move some of those hours to a TikTok-esque experience.
The TwitchCon announcement slate did not end with the reveal of vertical video streams. Twitch is looking to add 1440p to its list of video resolutions, providing a premium option for viewers with powerful devices. Streamers who are interested in trying out that feature can put their names on the waitlist here.
TwitchCon is always a big moment for the Twitch team, as the event gives CEO Dan Clancy and his executive team the perfect platform to show off incoming upgrades. The next chance of that nature will come on October 17. That’s when the Stateside verison of TwitchCon will return to San Diego. In the meantime, you can peruse the Twitch blog for details about the platform’s newest products.
