YouTube launched a spin-off platform for gamers called YouTube Gaming on Wednesday in its push into the video game streaming space.
The new service is a dedicated app and website which focuses exclusively on gaming content. It will offer over 25,000 game-specific pages to make it easy for users to quickly find gameplay clips and other content related to their favorite games, according to PC World.
The app will also include video content and live streams from thousands of gaming-related channels.
"YouTube gaming brings you closer to the games, gamers and culture that matter to you," YouTube engineering manager Frank Petterson said, adding that "together, we all make gaming better. Our peers make us better gamers, and games are made better by the communities that surround them."
One expert said that YouTube Gaming is YouTube's answer to rivals such as Twitch and Dailymotion, BBC News reported.
YouTube was rumored to be interested in buying Twitch last year before Amazon got to the video-streaming site first and bought it for $970 million. Twitch, which has 1.5 million total broadcasters and 100 million unique viewers each month, has been pivotal to the growing industry of e-sports by making it easier for gamers to broadcast their gameplay to fans, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"The opportunity in gaming video is enormous, and others have clearly taken notice," Twitch senior vp marketing Matthew DiPietro said in a statement. "We're proud of what we've accomplished in the last four years, but our eyes are on the future...We are dedicated to being the best social, global, multi-screen video platform for gamers, period."
With many Twitch personalities already archiving streams on YouTube, it's possible some will make the transition to YouTube Gaming and do their streaming from there.
YouTube Gaming will be available to the U.S. and U.K. on both Android and iOS devices.
