On June 5th Amazon announced that they are rolling out Twitch Prime in over 200 countries. The service was first launched in October last year in a limited number of countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, and some European nations. The Global Launch will give people around the world access to the premium benefits that Twitch Prime offers.
Twitch has broadened its market scope since its launch in June 2011. It quickly took the lead as a live streaming video platform specifically focused on video games, capturing a popular niche with constantly-updated, appealing content.
Amazon acquired the platform in August 2014, paying $970 million for the company, and it continued to grow. In 2015, Twitch announced that they had 1.5 million broadcasts and over 100 million visitors per month.
Since then, Twitch still keeps its focus firmly rooted in gaming, but showcases an expansive range of content, including playthroughs, guides and tips, E-sports competitions, commentaries from PokerStars professionals, and creative content of all kinds. Most recently, the platform has opened up to independent music broadcasts.
Twitch Prime represents the most recent evolution of the platform and a move that clearly has Amazon stamped all over it; but users will be happy to know that an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription grants you automatic Twitch Prime subscriptions, and vice-versa.
One of the main benefits of Twitch Prime is that it gives users access to ad-free streaming. Let’s face it – no one likes adverts because they interrupt your activity. So, this feature alone makes Prime worth the pennies. Subscribers also get a ton of extra offers, including free games, a free channel subscription every 30 days, and discounts on new games offered on Amazon during the pre-order phase and the couple of weeks after release.
Twitch Prime subscribers also gain access to pretty neat and exclusive game loot, including new characters, vehicles, skins and clothing, an elite chat badge, and an expanded range of chat emotes.
One of the rewards for June that has garnered some excitement is the Twitch clothing for “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds,” one of the most watched games on the platform right now. The clothing for characters will be released on June 9th. Free games are being released all of the time, including the Zelda-style game “Titan Souls.”
Although Twitch Prime has been available in some countries for a few months, the global release will make the service available to countries around the world.
A Twitch Prime subscription is now available in the new countries for $2.99 a month, a 50% discount from the usual $5.99 fee. Amazon Prime customers can link their accounts so that they can take advantage of Twitch Prime as part of the service.
The global release of Twitch Prime is expected to result in more Twitch subscribers, as Amazon members in a number of countries try out the benefits of the offer, whether as a separate subscription or as part of their existing Prime package.
