Video streaming service Twitch is rolling out a Discovery Feed to support growth opportunities for smaller streamers. That and other short-form video features were announced at TwitchCon Paris this past weekend. Though the platform’s primary business remains live-streaming, it wants to give creators a chance to promote their content in the native environment rather than on YouTube and TikTok, where most of the outreach has taken place to date. Like TikTok, the Twitch Discovery Feed is designed as a scrollable vertical feed that relies on algorithms to serve clips to users even when the creators aren’t live.

“Unlike TikTok and other short-form video platforms, Twitch made it clear that it isn’t prioritizing bite-sized content over streaming,” TechCrunch reports.

“Because Twitch is all about live, interactive channels, it’s not our goal for viewers to spend hours in a Clips feed,” the Amazon subsidiary noted in a blog post. “Our investment in Clips is to help viewers discover your channel so they join you and your community when you stream.”

Twitch’s Discover Feed will launch in the fall. Until then, the company says it will test the algorithms in a limited run.

“The shift toward short-form video also includes new editing features” that will be available on mobile, allowing creators “to natively edit clips from their streams into a vertical format,” according to TechCrunch. “Twitch will now support direct exports to YouTube and, starting in August, will allow users to directly export clips to TikTok.”

Twitch is also adding Stories in October. “Stories will appear on the Following page of Twitch’s mobile app, and creators can set their stories to be publicly viewable or exclusive to paying subscribers,” TechCrunch notes, explaining they will be “moderated by automated ‘text and image scanning technology.’”

“The stories format is well understood — ephemeral clips, pictures, text updates, polls,” according to Twitch. “What’s exciting about Twitch stories is your ability to reach all your Twitch followers or to share with subscribers only.”

The company is also changing its approach to ad breaks, previously “a point of contention between the platform and its users,” writes TechCrunch, explaining that “although streamers have been able to see countdown timers for ad breaks on their end, many have complained that ads interrupt their content without enough warning.”

Twitch is also expanding and updating Guest Star, adding features including “Streaming Together,” “Invite from Chat” and “Request to Join.”

“One of the best ways for streamers to grow is to collaborate with other streamers,” Twitch said, detailing “you can be live on your channel, and your guest can be live on theirs, meaning everyone has more opportunity to grow. Streamers at any level — Partners, Affiliates, anyone — can stream together with Guest Star.”

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Twitch Adding New Feature Straight Out of Snapchat’s Playbook, Game Rant, 7/9/23