Latest news with #TwitchCon
eNCA
a day ago
- Entertainment
- eNCA
Gaming fans bring electric energy to Rotterdam as TwitchCon arrives
ROTTERDAM - A few metro stops from Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena, chatter is already flowing among gaming fans -- TwitchCon passes swinging from their necks, animal ears perched on their heads. The Dutch city is hosting TwitchCon this weekend -- the annual event run by United States streaming giant Twitch -- where fans can meet their favourite creators and join the celebrations. Thousands of fans from across Europe turned out to meet their favourite creators and watch live e-sports events, including Fortnite and Elden Ring, staged by Twitch celebrities. "Most of the work that happens on Twitch is online, it's digital," said Mary Kish, a marketing director at Twitch. "You're streaming with other people, you're hanging out with your community for many hours a week. "What happens at TwitchCon is the culmination of all of that goodwill and all of that joy in person at a con, and the energy is electric," said the 39-year-old, who is from the United States. French streamers JL Tomy and Etoiles -- who have 1.3 million and 1.2 million followers -- were also among those in attendance. "It's fun because there are lots of other partner streamers who are like me," said JL Tomy, 28, whose real name is Toma Abdellaoui. "I'm very much a homebody," said the streamer, whose content focuses on GTA, Valorant, League of Legends and e-sports competitions. Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for roughly $842 million, Twitch is the world's leading streaming platform for gaming, with more than 2.5 million hourly viewers on average. While gaming remains core to Twitch since its 2011 debut, the platform has broadened its reach, drawing in entertainment, sports and political figures, as well as livestreaming other major events. Kish said that Twitch's "Just Chatting" category is now its largest non-gaming segment. "There is a massive variety of other people doing other things. Like food and drink, where people are cooking... people who are showing their aquariums in their houses," Kish said. Reflecting that diversity, visitors attended theatre workshops, built Lego models, or watched the annual Drag Queen show, a TwitchCon staple. TwitchCon's next North American edition is scheduled for October 17–19, 2025, in San Diego.
Tahawul Tech
2 days ago
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
TwitchCon 10th anniversary brings new products and language expansion
New features unveiled at TwitchCon Rotterdam focus on enhancing the mobile experience, expanding monetisation for streamers, and launching right-to-left Arabic support. Dubai — Twitch — a subsidiary of Inc. — has marked a decade of TwitchCon with a celebration in Rotterdam. The interactive live streaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more unveiled a suite of new features designed to enhance how communities connect, streamers grow, and fans engage across the globe. The company announced the upcoming launch of right-to-left Arabic language support, opening new doors for Arabic-speaking streamers and viewers in the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. In 2024, Twitch saw a +24% YoY increase in content watch time in the UAE – contributing to the livestreaming service's broader momentum across MENA. Viewers across MENA spent 209 Million+ hours watching content on Twitch in 2024, a clear sign of the region's surging demand for livestreamed entertainment. The Twitch community is composed primarily of Gen Z and Millennials, and nearly 70% of Twitch viewers are between the ages of 18 and 34 and with 105M+ average monthly visitors. Over 2.5 million people tune in to Twitch at any given moment, broadcasting content in 35 languages worldwide. 'TwitchCon is our largest annual IRL gathering, bringing together our global community of streamers, viewers, and brands in a powerful way,' said Dan Clancy, CEO of Twitch. 'This weekend in Rotterdam is a celebration of creativity, connection, and fun. We're introducing new tools and features to help streamers grow, including ones tailored to the MENA region. We've seen strong momentum around gaming and esports, plus a rising demand for new and existing audiences. We're excited to keep building in MENA, because when streamers thrive, so do the communities around them.' TwitchCon Rotterdam kicked off its tenth anniversary celebrations, with another major event planned for San Diego later this year. During the keynote, Twitch shared updates across mobile innovation, monetisation, community tools, and streamers' support. Key Highlights from TwitchCon Rotterdam include: Twitch will launch right-to-left Arabic on Twitch. Arabic is one of the most spoken languages in the world, and this update will open the door for even more people to join in on Twitch and build community here. Twitch will have more to share this summer. To get streams looking better on smaller devices, Twitch is rolling out vertical streaming. The new vertical layout makes it easier for viewers to participate in events like Hype Trains and support streamers by subbing, gifting, and cheering while watching streams in full screen. Twitch is also adding the ability to stream in dual format as part of this update—meaning Creators can go live in both horizontal and vertical formats at the same time. Twitch will be testing dual-format streaming and the new vertical theatre with a small number of channels this summer before slowly expanding to more users later this year. Twitch will begin rolling out 2k streaming in Open Beta to all Partners and Affiliates. 2k streams will use a newer HEVC codec that offers higher quality streams with lower bitrates. With Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting technology, stream quality will automatically adjust based on bandwidth, so viewers will see the best version of the streams with no lagging or buffering. Head to Creator Home to sign up to take part in the Open Beta now – some accounts will be granted access immediately to allow streaming directly from TwitchCon in 2k. Twitch is introducing Combos. Combos is about giving viewers more ways to react to streams and express themselves—all while supporting Creators monetarily. The feature allows anyone to support your channel, only takes a handful of Bits to contribute to Combos, and is built around reacting to your moments, which is something Chat already does. Combos start with a single tap, which rallies other viewers to keep the Combo going and unleash bigger and bigger effects. Starting very soon, streamers will be able to run their own gift sub promotions. It could be for a streamer-versary, a Partner-versary, or just because you feel like it. To start, Partners and Affiliates will be given 70 hours of promotional time to use in up to seven different promotions throughout the year. For now, promotions will be limited to 35% off bundles of 5+ gift subs, but Twitch is exploring other promotions types as well. Twitch is making reaching Affiliate status more achievable. Creators can find the updated Affiliate requirements in the Creator Dashboard or on the Affiliate help page. For streamers who aren't Affiliates, Twitch just made an update this week to allow access to money made from streaming before reaching the payout threshold. As lives get busier, viewers aren't always able to tune in for longer streams, but they will always have a few minutes to catch up on what they've missed in the Clips feed. So, Twitch is focused on making Clips more engaging by adding comments and reactions. Twitch is also working on making it easier to create and share these Clips with recent updates like a less disruptive clipping flow, a first-party clip chat command, and upcoming experiments that help streamers draft Clips they can come back to review, edit, and publish after a stream. Additionally, watching Clips contributes to viewer's Watch Streaks. Twitch is also rolling out rewind. Viewers can rewind a stream to the part they missed, then resume the stream and join the action in real time. Twitch will be testing with a small number of viewers later this summer to help refine rewind. As part of improving the mobile experience, Twitch has simplified the process for starting and managing a Shared Chat on mobile. This will enable anyone—but especially IRL streamers—to collaborate more easily on the go. This update will be rolled out to all streamers next month. Twitch is bringing mobile Mod View to the Android App. Mod View on mobile gives Mods easier access to their most important tools, designed for a smaller screen experience. This update is rolling out to the Twitch Android app on Monday. Twitch is launching the Twitch Moderators Club. Mods help protect their favourite communities, but Mods should also have a space that's all theirs. Similar to our Unity Guilds and Creator Clubs, the Twitch Moderators Club is meant to help foster connection and community. This is a new private Discord space for Mods where they can connect, share ideas, and access educational workshops.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
IRL hype: TwitchCon drops stream queens and meme kings into Rotterdam
ROTTERDAM, June 2 — A few metro stops from Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena, chatter is already flowing among gaming fans — TwitchCon passes swinging from their necks, animal ears perched on their heads. The Dutch city is hosting TwitchCon this weekend — the annual event run by United States streaming giant Twitch — where fans can meet their favourite creators and join the celebrations. 'I started during the lockdown and I just really like to put on the live stream while I'm working on cosplays or other things,' said Larissa, a 24-year-old Dutch woman, who came to meet the creator of the fantasy characters that inspire her. This is Larissa's second TwitchCon, and for the occasion, she is dressed as a half-cyborg, half-minotaur creature with green skin and bright red eyes. 'I've been meeting a lot of cool people here, especially when you're in cosplay. People recognize the cosplay and are like, oh, that's the same series I really like. So then you have also something to talk about already.' People attend the international event TwitchCon Europe at the Ahoy area in Rotterdam May 31, 2025. — AFP pic Electric energy Like Larissa, thousands of fans from across Europe turned out to meet their favourite creators and watch live e-sports events including Fortnite and Elden Ring, staged by Twitch celebrities. 'Most of the work that happens on Twitch is online, it's digital,' said Mary Kish, a marketing director at Twitch. 'You're streaming with other people, you're hanging out with your community for many hours a week. 'What happens at TwitchCon is the culmination of all of that goodwill and all of that joy in person at a con, and the energy is electric,' said the 39-year-old, who is from the United States. French streamers JL Tomy and Etoiles — who have 1.3 million and 1.2 million followers — were also among those in attendance. 'It's fun because there are lots of other partner streamers who are like me,' said JL Tomy, 28, whose real name is Toma Abdellaoui. 'I'm very much a homebody,' said the streamer, whose content focuses on GTA, Valorant, League of Legends and e-sports competitions. Attendees play chess during the international event TwitchCon Europe at the Ahoy area in Rotterdam May 31, 2025. — AFP pic Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for roughly $842 million, Twitch is the world's leading streaming platform for gaming, with more than 2.5 million hourly viewers on average. While gaming remains core to Twitch since its 2011 debut, the platform has broadened its reach, drawing in entertainment, sports and political figures, as well as livestreaming other major events. Kish said that Twitch's 'Just Chatting' category is now its largest non-gaming segment. 'There is a massive variety of other people doing other things. Like food and drink, where people are cooking... people who are showing their aquariums in their houses,' Kish said. Reflecting that diversity, visitors attended theatre workshops, built Lego models, or watched the annual Drag Queen show, a TwitchCon staple. TwitchCon's next North American edition is scheduled for October 17–19, 2025, in San Diego. — AFP
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
IRL hype: TwitchCon brings stream queens and meme kings to Rotterdam
ROTTERDAM, June 2 — A few metro stops from Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena, chatter is already flowing among gaming fans — TwitchCon passes swinging from their necks, animal ears perched on their heads. The Dutch city is hosting TwitchCon this weekend — the annual event run by United States streaming giant Twitch — where fans can meet their favourite creators and join the celebrations. 'I started during the lockdown and I just really like to put on the live stream while I'm working on cosplays or other things,' said Larissa, a 24-year-old Dutch woman, who came to meet the creator of the fantasy characters that inspire her. This is Larissa's second TwitchCon, and for the occasion, she is dressed as a half-cyborg, half-minotaur creature with green skin and bright red eyes. 'I've been meeting a lot of cool people here, especially when you're in cosplay. People recognize the cosplay and are like, oh, that's the same series I really like. So then you have also something to talk about already.' People attend the international event TwitchCon Europe at the Ahoy area in Rotterdam May 31, 2025. — AFP pic Electric energy Like Larissa, thousands of fans from across Europe turned out to meet their favourite creators and watch live e-sports events including Fortnite and Elden Ring, staged by Twitch celebrities. 'Most of the work that happens on Twitch is online, it's digital,' said Mary Kish, a marketing director at Twitch. 'You're streaming with other people, you're hanging out with your community for many hours a week. 'What happens at TwitchCon is the culmination of all of that goodwill and all of that joy in person at a con, and the energy is electric,' said the 39-year-old, who is from the United States. French streamers JL Tomy and Etoiles — who have 1.3 million and 1.2 million followers — were also among those in attendance. 'It's fun because there are lots of other partner streamers who are like me,' said JL Tomy, 28, whose real name is Toma Abdellaoui. 'I'm very much a homebody,' said the streamer, whose content focuses on GTA, Valorant, League of Legends and e-sports competitions. Attendees play chess during the international event TwitchCon Europe at the Ahoy area in Rotterdam May 31, 2025. — AFP pic Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for roughly $842 million, Twitch is the world's leading streaming platform for gaming, with more than 2.5 million hourly viewers on average. While gaming remains core to Twitch since its 2011 debut, the platform has broadened its reach, drawing in entertainment, sports and political figures, as well as livestreaming other major events. Kish said that Twitch's 'Just Chatting' category is now its largest non-gaming segment. 'There is a massive variety of other people doing other things. Like food and drink, where people are cooking... people who are showing their aquariums in their houses,' Kish said. Reflecting that diversity, visitors attended theatre workshops, built Lego models, or watched the annual Drag Queen show, a TwitchCon staple. TwitchCon's next North American edition is scheduled for October 17–19, 2025, in San Diego. — AFP
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Gaming fans bring electric energy to Rotterdam as TwitchCon arrives
A few metro stops from Rotterdam's Ahoy Arena, chatter is already flowing among gaming fans -- TwitchCon passes swinging from their necks, animal ears perched on their heads. The Dutch city is hosting TwitchCon this weekend -- the annual event run by United States streaming giant Twitch -- where fans can meet their favourite creators and join the celebrations. "I started during the lockdown and I just really like to put on the live stream while I'm working on cosplays or other things," said Larissa, a 24-year-old Dutch woman, who came to meet the creator of the fantasy characters that inspire her. This is Larissa's second TwitchCon, and for the occasion, she is dressed as a half-cyborg, half-minotaur creature with green skin and bright red eyes. "I've been meeting a lot of cool people here, especially when you're in cosplay. People recognize the cosplay and are like, oh, that's the same series I really like. So then you have also something to talk about already." - Electric energy - Like Larissa, thousands of fans from across Europe turned out to meet their favourite creators and watch live e-sports events including Fortnite and Elden Ring, staged by Twitch celebrities. "Most of the work that happens on Twitch is online, it's digital," said Mary Kish, a marketing director at Twitch. "You're streaming with other people, you're hanging out with your community for many hours a week. "What happens at TwitchCon is the culmination of all of that goodwill and all of that joy in person at a con, and the energy is electric," said the 39-year-old, who is from the United States. French streamers JL Tomy and Etoiles -- who have 1.3 million and 1.2 million followers -- were also among those in attendance. "It's fun because there are lots of other partner streamers who are like me," said JL Tomy, 28, whose real name is Toma Abdellaoui. "I'm very much a homebody," said the streamer, whose content focuses on GTA, Valorant, League of Legends and e-sports competitions. Acquired by Amazon in 2014 for roughly $842 million, Twitch is the world's leading streaming platform for gaming, with more than 2.5 million hourly viewers on average. While gaming remains core to Twitch since its 2011 debut, the platform has broadened its reach, drawing in entertainment, sports and political figures, as well as livestreaming other major events. Kish said that Twitch's "Just Chatting" category is now its largest non-gaming segment. "There is a massive variety of other people doing other things. Like food and drink, where people are cooking... people who are showing their aquariums in their houses," Kish said. Reflecting that diversity, visitors attended theatre workshops, built Lego models, or watched the annual Drag Queen show, a TwitchCon staple. TwitchCon's next North American edition is scheduled for October 17–19, 2025, in San Diego.
