Microsoft is finally integrating Twitch live streaming into the Xbox OS and select Xbox Insiders can test it now. This new “Console Live Streaming” feature is now live in the latest Xbox preview builds for Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Insiders, and it will let Xbox gamers stream games on Twitch without having to install the Twitch app for Xbox consoles.
This new Twitch integration should feel familiar for Xbox gamers who used to stream games on Microsoft’s now-deprecated Mixer service. Twitch Live Streaming will be accessible from the “Capture and Share” tab in the Xbox Guiden where a new “Live Streaming” option will appear. To get started, users will first need to link their Twitch account to their Microsoft account, then a “Go Live now” button will appear to start streaming games on Twitch.
Following the sunsetting of Mixer last year, Xbox head Phil Spencer said Microsoft was working on integrating other live streaming services on Xbox consoles. “We absolutely want to give gamers choice of where to stream for Xbox,” the exec said back in June 2020, and we’re finally seeing the result of that with this new Twitch integration.
As you may know, Sony had a forward-thinking approach on this front right from the beginning of the previous console generation, with the PlayStation 4 making it seamless for gamers to start streaming games on Twitch on YouTube by pressing the Share button on the PS4 controller. It’s great to see Microsoft finally catching up, as the current Twitch app for Xbox that remains mandatory for streaming games on Twitch can be pretty clunky.
In addition to this new Console Live Streaming feature, today’s update for Xbox Insiders also brings more Xbox Cloud Gaming improvements. Xbox One owners can now Xbox Series X|S games like The Medium on their console, and this is thanks to Microsoft upgrading its xCloud server blades with custom Xbox Series X hardware earlier this year. If Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox consoles should become generally available later this year, the new Twitch live streaming features is “totally early days” according to the Xbox team.
