Twitch has recently announced the launch of a new Boost experimental tool that will be available to a small number of channels. Viewers will be able to pay to Boost their favorite streamer’s channel, which will result in the streamer receiving more top page recommendations.
Twitch said that it would be conducting a “Boost experiment” during the Patch Notes Episode 5 broadcast on September 30, 2021. Twitch Product Manager Jacob Rosok went into great depth regarding how this Boost function will work.
This tool, which will be tested with a select group of broadcasters, is based on the recent success of Twitch’s Boost feature, which allowed viewers to boost a stream using channel points. This new Boost feature, on the other hand, is unique in that it allows viewers to boost a stream with real-world money.
Twitch Product Manager Jacob Rosok said; “Community members can pay to make the Boost as big as they like. Each community members’ purchase will add more front page recommendations for creators. Twitch will call out to the community who made the purchase and show everyone exactly how many recommendations the community has unlocked.”
So far, the community hasn’t been impressed with this “pay-to-win” system, as it’s been called by some.
In a Tweet, Devin Nash points out that front page recommendations don’t always transfer to viewers, thus community members may be spending money on their favorite streamer for no real benefit.
Twitch’s own suggestions, according to Negaoryx, are frequently dominated by male streamers and channels with tens of thousands of active users. If these channels receive Boosts because of their large audience, Twitch’s own recommendations will remain on the front page. Smaller, growing channels are at a disadvantage because they lack the viewership to afford this Boost feature.
If Twitch intends to extend this Boost feature across the entire platform and keep content creators satisfied, there’s clearly a lot of work to be done.