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YouTube have announced via their official blog that their YouTube Gaming App will be shut down in March 2019.
Launched in 2015 to compete with Twitch, the app and website separate to YouTube failed to capture the same success.
Ryan Wyatt, YouTube’s director of gaming content and partnerships, spoke to The Verge on the service’s woes:
“When we launched the YouTube gaming app, I think there was a lot of brand confusion in the market of like, ‘Well, is this just a live gaming app and experience? What’s gonna happen to gaming on YouTube versus YouTube gaming app?’ And so we’re hoping that this time around, with us moving it to YouTube [proper], it’s a clear signal to the community that we care very much about gaming, that we want gaming on YouTube … to continue to thrive and be a big part. I think we had a big misstep and confusion there.”
Speaking on the official blog, YouTube detailed how they are incorporating gaming into their website:
Today, we’re launching a new Gaming destination to give gamers a home on YouTube! You can find the new YouTube Gaming destination at youtube.com/gaming. At the very top of the page you’ll see personalized gaming content based on what you like to watch. You’ll also see top live games and the latest gaming videos from your subscriptions, bringing the best of uploaded videos and live gaming to one destination. We’ve also built dedicated shelves for live streams and trending videos.
The blog post continues detailing how it is easier to find content from a specific game, highlighting creators who are “On The Rise”, and features from the app such as the dark theme color scheme and livestreaming functions.
What do you all think? Do you think this will be a better way for creators on YouTube to show off gaming based content? Will it still suffer the unpopularity of the app? Sound off in the comments below!
