Facebook sets sights on game streamers with new Gaming Creator Pilot Program

Facebook is targeting live streamers and gamers with a new Gaming Creator Pilot Program, taking on the likes of Twitch and YouTube Gaming. [caption id=“attachment_4322209” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Facebook is stepping up its eSports game[/caption] The social media giant has allowed game streaming on its platform for a while now, but this pilot program differs in that it’s a more cohesive approach to game streaming. As part of the program, streamers will gain access to an enhanced set of streaming tools. According to a VentureBeat report, the goal of the program is to “help livestreamers build a community. The new tools include various monetisation options that can allow viewers to pay their favourite streamers directly. As VentureBeat notes in its report, viewers who watch streamers on platforms like Twitch end up sharing the streams on Facebook anyway. Streaming directly on Facebook should make things more convenient and engaging. One of the platform’s top livestreamers, StoneMountain64, has been quoted as saying that he prefers Facebook to Twitch for two reasons. The first is that it’s easier to engage with the community directly. The second is that toxicity is apparently much less on Facebook. Toxic communities have been the undoing of many a good game and gaming platform. StoneMountain64 surmises that this is because there’s less anonymity on Facebook, and he might have a very good point there. As The Verge notes in its own report on the matter, Facebook has been pushing hard to get game streaming on to its platform. As such, the company has already signed an exclusive deal for broadcasting Counter Strike and DOTA 2 for an eSports company. These are two of the most popular live-streamed games.