Xbox Re-brands Its Streaming Service Into Mixer

In early 2017 Microsoft released their own streaming service called Beam to rival Amazon’s giant, Twitch. Beam was a streaming service that was only available on the Xbox One and Windows PC platforms. Microsoft announced today that they would be re-branding their service while also adding some new key features. The new service is called Mixer and is already available to use on PC and Xbox One.

A feature that Microsoft has created for Mixer is the ability to engage in a “Co-Stream” with friends. According to the Microsoft announcement, this mode will allow up to four separate players to combine their streams into one while playing any game. Also added in the announcement is that Co-streaming can be done even if the four friends are playing different titles. Mixer is also set to have less of a latency issue like other streaming services, so viewers should can see players streams in real-time without much lag.

With this launch, Mixer brings a new ability for players to interact with the streamers and help them make decisions in whatever game they are playing at the time. Matt Salsamendi is the engineering lead on the Mixer platform and he wrote about what players can expect from the service. “Viewers can actively participate in what’s happening on screen instead of just watching from the sidelines. With Mixer, you can influence everything from quest selection to tools to movement, mixing it up with your favorite streamers to create a new kind of gaming experience.” stated Salsamendi.

Microsoft also has plans to integrate the Mixer service and its features directly into some of their first party titles. Salsamendi’s post mentions the Minecraft dev team and their work on integrating Mixer into the title. He added how the Minecraft players were able to have enemies and items summoned into the game by viewers watching the live stream.

Finally, there is an IOS and Android app available that is titled “Mixer Create” and will allow self-broadcasting through smartphones and eventually the streaming of mobile games. This and the app for Xbox One and PC are already available to download and use today.