Twitch integration on PS4? Streaming service and Sony weigh in

The moment of truth is of course nearing, as the Xbox One is slated to arrive in November.

Without a dedicated "Share" button like the PS4 has on its controller, we wondered how players will access Twitch controls in the heat of the moment.

Dipietro assured us that it will be "a top level menu option," though again the specifics aren't nailed down. And he reminded us that some details for how the PS4's Share button will work are still missing, too.

"We'll see what it looks like," he said.

Nevertheless, he's sure that it will be a big step up from how streaming exists now.

"[Twitch on Xbox One] removes the entire technological barrier that had previously existed to broadcasting your games," he said.

Dedicated streamers currently have to invest in costly hardware and software just to be able to broadcast, and "even with all those barriers" Twitch still gets over 600,000 unique streamers a month.

"It's not actually very easy to do, and the community that does this on Twitch, they are very, very, very passionate about it," Dipietro said. "Now it's just a standard piece of the gamer experience on the Xbox One, and it has the potential to just 10 times the broadcast base…the potential is mind-boggling."

PS4 Xbox One controllers

The streaming battle on next-gen consoles has only just begun

Secret plans

The Xbox 360 Twitch app debuted this year, and Dipietro revealed that the company was working with Microsoft in secret for at least a year leading up to the app's reveal.

But the 360 app only allows users to watch Twitch streams on their consoles, not to broadcast gameplay from them. On Xbox One, Twitch promises to finally bring that functionality to consoles.

"It has been frustrating for so many months to not be able to talk about [the Xbox One integration] until now," Dipietro said. "It's a weight off of everybody's shoulders to be able to finally have this out there and feel the excitement from the community."

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.