BlueStacks TV Livestreams Android Games On Twitch Without A Phone

Enjoying watching how other people play games, and enjoying showing other people how you play games, has become quite a phenomenon and a whole business unto itself. Livestreaming has, in fact, started to overflow into the mobile gaming industry, with the likes of Google trying to get into the game as well. Now BlueStacks, which lets you play Android games on PCs, is also jumping in. Bluestacks is launching BlueStacks TV, bringing Android livestreaming on Twitch to the PC. And you don't even need an Android phone to do so.

That might sound a bit strange but it really isn't if you're aware of what BlueStacks does. It is one of the most popular ways to run Android apps on PCs. While other methods required the use of resource draining Android emulators, BlueStacks has been optimized to be able to even run some more or less resource-intensive Android games.

Livestreaming those games on Twitch adds a somewhat different yet related layer to BlueStack's value proposition. For one, it will let its existing audience enjoy the excitement of livestreaming on their PCs. But it also invites a new class of users that may already be avid Android gamers on the their smartphones but who are hindered from livestreaming on their devices.

Being able to livestream, be it a PC or a mobile game, uses up additional resources to manage the recording and streaming of the screen, plus sometimes overlaying the player's webcam footage. On PCs, that might not be too much of a problem considering their beefier specs. On mobile with more constrained hardware, that becomes a major roadblock. BlueStacks TV solves that by transferring the burden to the PC. Now anyone who wants to livestream their Hearthstone or Vainglory brawls will only need a PC with a mic and webcam. They might not even own an Android device at all.

Getting into the game this early and working on this app for Twitch could give BlueStacks the edge in this fledgling market. There are still few contenders, like Google and third party apps like Kamcord, but almost all of those do require the use an Android device. Depending on the actual game in question, BlueStacks may be helping democratize and further popularize the mobile game livestreaming market.

SOURCE: BlueStacks