Microsoft, Google, and Facebook Planning On Breaking Into Video Game Streaming

People love playing video games — that much is obvious. But there are levels to how much people actually love playing, showcasing, and even watching others play video games.

Some people are completely content playing Mario Kart for an hour or two on their cool bean bag chairs at home. The average gamer spends about 6.5 hours each week playing online with other players. Additionally, on average, gamers between the age of 18 and 25 spend about 3.5 hours each week watching other gamers play online.

Thanks to Twitch, a company that Amazon acquired in 2014 for $1.1 billion, video game streaming has become incredibly popular across the globe.

According to The New York Times, Tyler Blevins, known as “Ninja” in the video game community, earns more than $500,000 a month on Twitch thanks to his 250,000 paid subscribers.

Streaming is so popular because anyone can do it. As long as the gamer has the necessary equipment (not to mention cool bean bag chairs), an entertaining personality, and a high level of skill, they could potentially earn some serious money simply by playing video games.

Whether these gamers are playing on bean bag gaming chairs or inside intricate highly technical gaming studios, it looks like video game streaming isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, some other major players are already working on video game streaming services of their own.

According to Wired, rumors have been circulating that Google is working on a multi-pronged gaming initiative that would involve both hardware and a streaming platform. Google’s new project is being called “Yeti.”

Since Xbox is now one of the most popular consoles in the world, Microsoft has already been a major player within the gaming community. Now, the company is hoping to improve its standing by offering its own video game service which would allow gamers to “unlock console-quality gaming on any device.”

Even Facebook is launching a dedicated section for video game live streaming. Fb.gg allows users to find live and pre-recorded gaming content from featured streamers, as well as gamers that they already follow.

If you’re excited about watching and learning from some of the best gamers in the world, or just want to play your favorite games while comfortably sitting on cool bean bag chairs, give Sumo Lounge a call right away!