Twitch has been consistently dishing out excellent features to benefit both its content creators and its viewers.
One of the many features you can enjoy on Twitch is its Squad Stream mode. This feature was first announced back in 2018, and in 2019 Twitch finally made the feature available.
This feature is very excellent as it opens new windows for content creators. Squad Stream isn’t available for every content creator on Twitch, and this writeup has why.
In this article, you’ll learn how to use this feature and discover many other things about it. Keep reading to find out.
What is Twitch squad mode?
Its name somehow gives it away. Twitch Squad Stream is a way for up to four content creators to share their screen for fans’ viewing pleasure simultaneously.
Typically, Twitch was known as a solo streaming platform, but this new feature takes things up. Undoubtedly, the squad stream feature hasn’t gotten too popular amongst Twitch users; however, it is an innovative feature with significant advantages.
Not every Twitch streamer can use the squad stream; it is presently available to Twitch partners (more on this later) and not its affiliates or small streamers; maybe this is why it isn’t famous yet.
However, go below to see how Twitch squad mode works and some possible ways content creators may take advantage of the squad stream feature.
How does the Twitch squad work?
Twitch squad stream is a feature available to only Twitch partners at the moment. They can access the option from the Stream Manager section of their Twitch account. This feature works by allowing up to four streamers to share their screen simultaneously.
Viewers can pick and choose whom they’ll love to focus on predominantly; the selected streamer automatically becomes the primary streamer.
All views are awarded to them. Since the squad mode doesn’t have a squad chat, the viewers can only chat in the currently selected primary streamer’s window; there’s also no feature to squad donate, so this can be done streamer after streamer; that is, the viewer would have to switch between each streamer to donate, chat, make their view count or follow them individually.
Reasons for squad streaming
There are so many reasons one would want to squad stream; aside from giving your viewers and fans a virtual seat at your tabletop gaming stream, you can take advantage of this feature for any of the reasons below.
1. To See Progress
Although there are different ways to share your screen with your streamer friends and the reverse, especially when you guys want to see how far you have progressed in a game, mainly if the bet was to see who would go the farthest, gaming is generally fun.
However, competitions and dares like this take the fun to a whole different universe. With the Squad Stream feature, you and your fellow streamers can see the progress level you all are at.
2. To Learn New Tricks
One remarkable thing about many games these days is, they are often different ways to pass a level or a scene.
While you may be good at a specific stage, you can also gain a trick or an idea of passing another level with ease from a squad stream session. This applies to both the streamer and the viewer.
3. To Compete
With the squad stream feature, two or more streamers can compete effectively. Viewers wouldn’t have to go looking for the other streamer’s channel as they can switch between both screens.
4. Progress as a Team (especially in battle royale games)
PUBG, Fortnite, Call of duty, and a host of others are famous battle royale games. The standard way of playing these games is solo, that is, you to your screen and your team to theirs.
With the squad stream feature, you can now go into battle as a team. Isn’t this great?
Now, you can watch each other’s back while conquering as you proceed.
5. Gain new followers
During a squad stream, all content creators’ followers or viewers get to watch all the rest simultaneously; if they are impressed by another streamer, they may follow them. Many content creators have reported a considerable amount of follower’s growth after a squad stream.
How to squad stream
If you are a Twitch partner, follow the steps below to enter squad mode. These steps apply to both your browser and application.
Step 1: Open your Twitch account by visiting its official site and sign in. You can also access Twitch from your mobile app.
Step 2: Click on your profile icon; it is often at the top right corner and is represented by a human avatar. A drop-down menu appears; select the Creator Dashboard option.
Step 3: While in the Creator Dashboard, go to the left pane and select the Stream Manager tab. This action then opens your stream settings.
Step 4: If you can’t find the Squad stream option, click on the Plus sign in the Quick Action section and select Squad Stream from the lists presented.
Step 5: Now, click on the Squad stream button to start customizing the action. You are given three slots to add other Twitch partners (friends or teammates).
Click the Add a Channel button, type in the channel’s username, and select it.
Step 6: After sending out invitations for others to join “the squad” and getting accepted, you now select the Start Squad Stream button, which is at the bottom of the squad stream tab.
These steps are applicable when you want to host a squad stream. To honour an invitation, follow from step one to four, select the Invite option, and accept any invitation.
Few Additional Info on Squad Stream
The person who sends out the invitation is the squad leader; they can add or remove other squad players.
Suppose if the Squad Leader leaves the stream for some reason. In that case, the first partner that accepted the invitation becomes the new leader. If a streamer leaves the squad, their viewers stay back, so they should inform them when they are about to leave.
A Squad Stream banner is displayed on every member of the squad’s profile; viewers can click this banner to watch the squad play. Streamers can watch the whole squad or stick to their channel’s window.
Since streamers can’t communicate or chat with each other, they will have to work with a third-party program like Discord to communicate.
Also, a high-latency connection could result in things getting bogged down or desynchronization.
To mitigate this, every squad streamer should reduce their latency settings by going to Dashboard, then Settings and Channel.
How to watch a Twitch squad stream (viewers)
When a channel is in squad mode, a banner is displayed to show that. However, the steps below are how viewers can find squad streams of their favourite streamers.
Step 1: Visit your favorite streamers channel (or any other channel); if they are active in a squad stream, you would see a bright Watch in Squad Mode button beneath the Follow and Subscribe buttons.
Step 2: The channel would be shown as the main window; you can toggle between other channels.
FAQs
Q. Can non-affiliates squad stream?
No, they can’t. Twitch promises to make this feature available for every user, but they haven’t given any specific time.
Q. Who can use the squad stream feature?
At the moment, only Twitch Partners can access this feature. No other content creator, including affiliates, can. The reason for this is, squad streaming is resource-intensive on the Twitch servers. Although Twitch says they’ll make squad streaming available for other users, they haven’t given a specific date for this.
Another reason only Twitch Partners can access this feature is because of the need for video quality, aka transcodes. At the moment, Twitch Partners get the exclusive window of receiving video quality options to their streams by default; affiliates, on the other hand, receive them based on priority access.
While a viewer is watching a four-person squad stream, the catch is they can reduce the other video quality while focusing on the primary streamer. It is pretty standard for streamers to stream in 720p, which is a pretty high resolution. With the option to choose video resolutions, viewers are saved the expenses that would accrue from streaming four 720p resolution videos when in actuality, they are focused on one.
Q. Can I squad stream on mobile devices?
Yes, you can. With your mobile browser or your mobile application, the Twitch squad stream is readily available.
Q. How are views counted in the squad stream?
It doesn’t matter if a viewer has all four videos on display on their screen; views are recorded for the primary window only. That is, the window the viewers choose to maximize and focus.
Q. Can viewers watch squad streams on mobile devices?
Yes, they can. However, out of the four squad members, they can only select three. This is integral to provide an optimal and consistent experience for all audiences.
Q. Would ads still show in a squad stream?
Yes, they would. Both pre-roll and manually triggered mid-roll ads would play during the squad stream. These ads would display on the primary screen only, that is, the screen the viewer is focused on (big screen.) While an ad is playing, the viewers cannot switch the streamer until it is done. Ads take the entire screen on mobile devices.
Q. How can Affiliates squad stream?
Until thing changes, they can’t, at least not with the Squad Stream feature Twitch Partners have access to; however, they are third-party platforms that Affiliates can seize advantage of. All they have to do is create a group stream. Then they can instruct their viewers to watch them from a third-party platform like MultiTwitch.
Conclusion
The Squad Stream feature was long-awaited; it currently is available to only Twitch Partners, with Twitch promising to make it available to others. It isn’t too famous at the moment, probably due to the limited users who have access to it. Nevertheless, this article has documented all you need to know about Twitch Squad stream, from its benefits and how to set it up.
