YouTube will soon expand into the video game arena. The announcement of its new platform and app, called YouTube Gaming, came Friday, just before the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
The platform is scheduled to go live later this summer; it will launch first in the US and UK. The format will feature individual pages for over 25,000 video games that include the legendary Zelda.
The announcement was made by Ryan Wyatt, who heads the global gaming content section at YouTube. He unveiled the platform at YouTube Space LA, which is a production base for the company. Wyatt explained that YouTube gaming is built by gamers for use by gamers.
While YouTube was written off by critics when it first appeared online as not being a threat to TV or radio, it has grown to become the primary source for many people around the world to consume online videos. YouTube, which is owned by Google, has about 100 million viewers per month.
By extending its arm into the video game industry, YouTube now has the opportunity to reach a bigger audience. Rather than just streaming videos, there will soon be the option also to stream video games.
Who will be the target audience? While gamers were traditionally largely composed of young males, the new gaming audience has more women, men of all ages, and kids too. Plus, many families play video games together rather than it being an individual activity.
YouTube Gaming will be in direct competition with Twitch, which is the streaming video site that focuses on gaming. Amazon acquired Twitch last year for about $1 billion (US).
Video game technology moves fast, and so YouTube is getting in on it now. The top designers around the world and latest graphics are in video games. Likely more changes are to come to video gaming technology and the industry in general over the coming years.