YouTube Gaming will be shut down in March 2019

Three years since it first launched, YouTube is getting rid of its YouTube Gaming app in March 2019. The dedicated gaming app didn’t reach a big enough audience with users sticking to watching gaming-related content on the main YouTube app. So, what the company is doing is bringing some of these gaming-specific features and content to the main YouTube site. The new location for all the gaming-related content will be “youtube.com/gaming” and will feature recommended gaming videos at the top, a list of popular livestreams, and content from existing subscriptions. From this location, you’ll also be able to favorite specific games so YouTube can use its algorithm to find recommendations for you. There will also be a part of the trending section reserved for “On The Rise” creators. This will focus on the good yet underappreciated videos from smaller creators and help them reach a larger audience. The features are launching first in the US and will be coming to other countries soon.

Demo shows YouTube Gaming app in action

Curious about what YouTube has up its sleeve for its Gaming app? Kotaku shows off a demo video of the app that’s still in its testing phase. It isn’t available for public release yet so if you see any kinks to it, it’s to be expected. You should probably play the guided tour clip in full-screen to actually see what’s happening. You can play around with the app through a leaked APK. It’s only available for Android users at the moment, though.

Source: Kotaku

YouTube introduces its own Twitch video game streaming competitor

YouTube was set to acquire video game streaming site Twitch a year ago, but Amazon beat them to it. Now, YouTube is taking the fight to Amazon and Twitch with its own gaming portal, YouTube Gaming. The mobile app and site will focus on live streaming video games and other game-related content. It’ll feature individual pages for over 25,000 games and pages for certain developers and gaming celebrities. Their version will be coming out this summer in the US and the UK.

Source: The Verge