At the recent Windows Creator Update event, Microsoft has revealed that it is officially rolling out its newly-acquired streaming service, Beam, on Xbox One and PC Spring 2017. There's a lot of reasons why you should wait for Beam. Before you can take hold of it, know how it is different from Twitch and reasons why this streaming service is worth the wait.
Microsoft Beam For Windows PC
For Windows PC owners, Beam can be accessed via hotkey that is expected to be released before the service gets into full operation. This hotkey will allow PC gamers to watch and stream gameplay without third-party apps. A stark competitor of Twitch, Beam on the other hand was introduced to improve streaming experience with games by reducing download lag to zero, which means PC gamers will have the ability to steam gameplay in real time.
Since everything around Beam works in real time, it should follow that communicating via group chats and comment sections will also go live. This also includes your interaction towards your audiences as they watch your gameplay. With only one button to notify your followers that you have started a game, this makes the task a lot easier. On top of that, audiences can pose challenges while watching a gamer at play. Hence, it affects in one way or another if the gamer who holds live streaming will respond to the challenge may it be in movement, tool selection, quests, etc. One more bonus is the support for Dolby Atmos which means the service comes with audio quality.
Microsoft Beam For Xbox One
As for Xbox One, Microsoft is excited how Xbox One gamers will take advantage of Beam in terms of its interactive capability. Hence, they are given options on "how and where they stream their games," Microsoft told Mashable.
One feature of Beam that Twitch can't do is creating a tournament or league. Microsoft's Jenn McCoy demonstrated how players can start their own tournaments using the Arena in Xbox Live. After initial setup of a tournament-game mode, duration, playstyle, etc., Beam will allow you to keep tabs of the scores and manage rankings.
Microsoft Beam is set for a Spring 2017 release.
