Steam is getting yet another competitor in the digital games marketplace as Twitch has announced that it will begin selling digital games directly to viewers starting in Spring.
Beginning sometime in Spring, Twitch will begin implementing a “Buy Now” button located directly below the video of the stream. Said “Buy Now” button will be updated according to the game that is being played at the moment, so if a streamer is currently streaming Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands for example, clicking on the button will lead you to a storefront for said game.
Twitch will also be making it so that streamers who opt to participate in this system will earn a 5% cut of the revenue from every viewer that purchased the game from their stream. 70% of the revenue from this system would go to the developers, while Twitch collects the remaining 25%. For those who purchase games through Twitch, purchases above USD4.99 will earn them a Twitch Crate, a digital loot box that contains a game-specific emote, a chat badge, and perhaps even some Bits.
Purchases on Twitch can then be redeemed via Twitch Launcher or through other digital games clients like UPlay. The transaction system will be handled by Twitch’s parent company Amazon, and all transactions will be done via US Dollars with other currencies being added as time goes on.
Source: Twitch
