Additional new changes are coming to Twitch and this time, the streaming platform is removing its popular hosting feature. As the updated Help page details, Twitch will be “deprecating” host mode as the “experience it delivers to viewers doesn’t match their expectations when they come to Twitch.”
“Viewers want to interact with a streamer when they’re live and host mode blocks this from happening,” the page reads. “Preventing viewers from interacting with the streamer they’re watching also limits a streamer’s growth potential because they’re not able to build meaningful connections with those new viewers.”
Host mode was introduced back in 2014 and allowed Twitch streamers to host fellow content creators’ broadcasts when they themselves were not live by embedding a link on their channel. It was an effective way for viewers to discover new streamers that may have something in common with the ones the people they usually watch.
As to how Twitch aims to help support the growth of streamers without the host mode, it explained that users will be able to use the new “shoutout” feature–which will be available sometime this month. By typing “/shoutout [channel]” in their chatbox, streamers can share a follow button to the mentioned account, allowing viewers to follow without leaving the broadcast they’re watching.
A few weeks ago, Twitch announced that it will let its partnered streamers release videos on YouTube and Facebook. However, it clarified that multicasting will be limited to mobile platforms such as TikTok.
Elsewhere, two of the biggest Twitch streamers, Ninja and Pokimane, have said that they’ll be scaling back their presence on the streaming platform.