The times are changing in the video game industry, as Twitch is becoming more than just a streaming service. Today, Paradox (the developers behind Cities: Skylines) announced a partnership with Twitch.
Beginning in spring this year, Paradox games and contend will be available directly through Twitch Games Commerce, while revenue will be split between the publisher, Twitch, and streamers who will earn five per cent of sales that come from their channels.
“Ultimately Paradox games are not about telling a story – they are about giving players the means to tell their own stories. Twitch, as a platform, is the natural extension of that philosophy”, says Shams Jorjani, VP Business Development at Paradox Interactive in a press release. “Giving players another way to support their favourite streamer is not only great for everyone involved – it’s a logical next step in the relationship between developers, fans and streamers.”
While any new way to bring content to players is always a welcome thing, Steaming platforms have had issues with streamers who have less than reputable business practices. In particular, Twitch was at the center of controversy when the popular online shooter CS: GO had a bit of a gambling scene. Gambling sites would actually tell certain streamers about the outcomes to certain matches so the streamers could create more exciting content, while profiting off people gambling on fixed games. This wasn’t exclusive to Twitch as two YouTubers “Tmartn” and “ProSyndicate” used their platform to promote a CS: Go gambling site they owned without disclosing ownership. While this isn’t necessarily the same thing, and paid advertisements with content creators is relatively common, adding an incentive for streamers makes them more akin to sales people rather than streamers. Hopefully, this will be an honest means for players to get their hands on content they see their favourite streamers playing, while not having let’s plays turn into commercials for titles.
This news comes just less than a week after Paradox interactive announced Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition which finally brings the franchise to consoles. But Paradox Interactive is more than just a one trick pony. With a history dating back to 1999, the company has established multiple franchises like Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, and Magicka and the Hearts of Iron series.