Twitch announces new Extensions program to let streamers customize their pages

Itakunews - Twitch announced a major update to its channel pages today in the form of a new extensions program that will let streamers customize their channels with third-party developer extensions. 

There will be over 20 extensions available at launch, including more generic ones like polls or a leaderboard for top fans, to game-specific ones that can display things like a streamer’s current Destiny loadout or Overwatch statistics. Streamers will be able to directly integrate these extensions into live video, too. While many streamers have already been using tools like this for a while, the fact that Twitch is building extensions directly into the platform should make it easier for more people to take advantage of the tools. 

Of particular note is a new “Gear on Amazon Extension” for Twitch Partners and Affiliates, who can now earn commissions through Amazon referrals directly from their Twitch pages. Given that many streamers already rely on Amazon referral as a monetization source, and that Amazon owns Twitch, it’s the kind of partnership that makes a lot of sense for Twitch to offer a native integration for. 

In addition to the first batch of extensions available at launch, Twitch will also be opening up its developer portal for third-party extensions, which users will be able to access through a new extension manager on Twitch.

Twitch says that Extensions will be “coming soon”, so keep an eye out for when the program launches.