With the launch of the Steam Broadcasting beta, it looks like Valve is possibly moving onto Twitch’s turf by allowing PC gamers to livestream their gaming sessions to friends.
Steam Broadcasts, which can be enabled by opting into the Steam beta client, gives users the ability to chat and watch any games that their friends are currently playing (and choose to broadcast). Being a beta, Valve expects that bandwidth may be limited at times, and they are actively looking for user feedback in how to improve the feature moving forward.
It would be nice to be able to view a stream from a web browser without using a Steam client, but still, it looks like a great start.
Read on for the official announcement from Valve and/o head to the official site.
Starting today Steam gamers may watch their friends’ games through the click of a button via Steam Broadcasting, now available in beta.
Steam Broadcast is designed for ease of use, allowing anyone to view a friend’s game by simply clicking on “Watch Game” on their Friend’s profile or Friend’s List to open a window into their gameplay – no game ownership, special fees, or additional apps required. The beta is open to everyone who opts in to the Steam Client Beta (via the Steam Settings panel), however bandwidth may be limited during the beta.
As always, Valve is interested in all feedback and ideas on how to make this feature better. To find out more about Steam Broadcast and offer your feedback, please check out the Steam Broadcast update page: http://steamcommunity.com/updates/broadcasting