Arriving at TwitchCon 2022 in San Diego for the first time ever was an interesting time. Usually, I only go to anime conventions, most recently Anime Expo 2022, and I felt a little more at home. This time, the focus had shifted from weeb statues and anime streaming services to web hardware and a streaming service.

Filling to the brim with everything in a streamer’s dream, PCs, games, and tech companies lined the TwitchCon 2022 exhibit hall. The first thing is the giant PogChamp with smoke coming from it’s giant lizard nostrils. It was the biggest sign that I was in for a new experience at TwitchCon 2022.

One of the most immediate stops at TwitchCon 2022 was the Microsoft Xbox booth featuring snacks and drinks and Grounded. You could sign up for special promotions including the Sea of Thieves Partner Programme. It was a nice first stop right next to the live set they streamed from to the Xbox Twitch channel and right across from the CapitalOne Café.

TwitchCon 2022 was very comfortable and it was nice to start off the journey of running around like a mad man from booth to booth. If there was anything I learned from previous conventions, is that pacing and comfortable shoes are required. A long day was ahead and the next stop was close.

I got to talk about fighting games with people that loved them and people that grew up with them at TwitchCon 2022. Street Fighter 6, the latest installment coming soon, was great to play on a fighting stick setup instead of just controller. Inside of the booth, there was also a streaming setup for bigger streamers to show their stuff.

Speaking with some of the booth talent, I was able to talk about my favorite games like Capcom vs. SNK 2 and how I hoped to see something from that in the future. Street Fighter 6 doesn’t have a release date as of yet but hopefully another beta will come soon and be open to everyone.

A triple threat at the SEGA booth featuring Company of Heroes 3, Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, and Like A Dragon: Ishin! encompassed a large portion of the floor. I wrote about my experience playing the demo of Like A Dragon: Ishin! and it was excellent. When you complete your play session, you get a hand fan with the game’s graphic on it as a sweet treat.

Completing PSO2‘s play session netted you a graphic tee and the recently announced Hyenas, which didn’t have any gameplay available, instead had a bar area that you could get refreshments from. Company of Heroes 3 from Relic Entertainment was also playable, but strategy games like those go over my head but I still had fun learning what I did.

Metal Core, as introduced to me, seems very much along the lines of something like MechWarrior with a mixture of FPS elements. When I was present, a set up of 5v5 was available with what was considered a “small” map with a set amount of soldiers and mechs.

There is an array of mechs and soldiers with different load outs and the game will open up to more than 5v5 and move towards a big team battle format. One controversial addition to the game, which is optional, is the inclusion of Web3 with transferrable items between games that are also built with Web3.

Outside of the games at TwitchCon 2022, you probably need something to control your games with. I went to a few different booths that supply inputs (and outputs) for your games. One was the PowerA booth, an affiliate of ours, and they had everything from controllers for Xbox, Switch, and mobile.

Headphones from LucidSound, like the LS100X, are wireless and are Xbox certified which means they connect seamlessly to your Xbox consoles but is also Bluetooth enabled. I was thrilled to see controllers for mobile phones since cloud gaming through services like Xbox, Steam Link, and PlayStation Remote Play are becoming much more prominent.

The other spot I went to in TwitchCon 2022 was the HyperX booth with a variety of items for the desk. From headphones, glasses, microphones, monitors, and more, whatever is made for the desk for your gaming setup exists there. I got to see the new Naruto x HyperX crossover products there as well, which we also reviewed, as well as some other products like headphone stands that are very creative to say the least.

One of the most interesting products that I found useful, not just for myself but everyone, was the HyperX QuadCast S USB condenser microphone. Obviously, there products are built very sturdy as I found out from the TimTheTatman collab items, and it transfers over to all of their microphones that I was able to pick up and feel for myself. I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer amount of thought that went into everything, even the presentation of the booth.

Definitely, for what it’s worth, TwitchCon 2022 has everything that a streamer could think of and hope for. Networking is the biggest focus for TwitchCon 2022 but there are plenty of opportunities for streamers to get more for their set up and content to stream with games of different varieties.

Lost Ark, Goat Simulator, and Grounded, to name a few, were able to be tested out and even partner programs for those who want to get something special for playing. I personally stopped by the Bungie Foundation booth to get a special emblem and physical items, which now go for exorbitant prices on eBay. I would like another tour of TwitchCon with more of my coworkers here so we can see more and do more and party in San Diego while we enjoy gaming.