Five percent of sales will go to the streamers if they have opted into the program.
In a blog post today, Twitch announced that stream viewers will be able to purchase games directly from Twitch. If you happen to be watching a stream and want to pick up the game, you can click a “buy now” button below the stream, assuming it’s one of the available games. While the offer for any available game will be featured on all streamer pages when that game is being played, only partnered streamers will be able to receive a 5% cut.
The service will be available sometime in Spring 2017.
“People already use Twitch as a way to ‘demo’ games and get a feel for what they’re all about before committing to a purchase. Soon, when you watch a stream, you’ll see an option to purchase below the video on the channel page if the game or in-game content is available on Twitch,” the post reads. “When you buy, if the streamer is a partner who has opted into the program, he or she gets a 5% share of the revenue. So now you can help support your favorite partnered streamers just by getting a game on their channel.”
The games can be downloaded and played via the Twitch launcher or on the publisher’s service, like Uplay.
While a list of games was not provided, Twitch did reveal its launch partners: Ubisoft, Telltale Games, Digital Extremes, Hi Rez Studios, Double Fine Games, Fred Wood, 11Bit, Jackbox Games, tinyBuild, Raw Fury, Devolver Digital, Gambitious, Trion Worlds, Blue Mammoth Games, iNK Stories, Versus Evil, Proletariat, Paradox Interactive, Vlambeer and Campo Santo.
Any game purchased for more than $4.99 will also come with a “digital loot box with a special reward,” called a Twitch Crate.
