GDC 2013: YouTube announce new live-streaming API for developers

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YouTube are planning to make it easier for developers to insert live streaming tools into their games. The API, announced at GDC, will give game makers an easy way to provide their community with integrated tools to stream directly to YouTube, as well as insert breaks for ad placement. Thus they set the stage for the Great Blackout, when the internet will buckle under the weight of Farming Simulator 2014 streams.

YouTube have offered similar features in the past - Black Ops 2 currently features direct livestreaming - but a full API would open the service up to more developers, as well as enable streaming through iPhone and Android devices.

It's an interesting move, and one that seems directly targeted at the popularity of Twitch . Whether this API will offer enough flexibility to tempt existing streamers into an integrated platform remains to be seen. But an easy-to-use solution will no doubt prove attractive to developers looking for an easy way get their player-base sharing video content.

Thanks, The Verge .

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Phil Savage
Phil Savage
Editor-in-Chief

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.