YouTube is launching an entirely new website for gamers -- except, it's not exactly grundbreaking.
YouTube announced a platform called Gaming on Friday, a separate website and app for its gaming community. It will be available in the U.S. and UK at some point this summer, with a special preview next week for E3 attendees.
Each game will get its own home where users can find streams, walkthroughs and other videos specific to that title, with content also coming from publishers and popular YouTube gaming personalities. Users can add games to their "collections," similar to how they would subscribe to a channel and receive notifications whenever channels they follow begin a live stream.
Sound familiar? Twitch, the massive game streaming platform and community that Google was rumored to acquire last year (before ultimately getting purchased by Amazon), thinks so.
. @YouTubeGaming Welcome Player 2. Add me on Google+. #kappa— Twitch (@Twitch) June 12, 2015
Ooof. Want some aloe for that sick burn, YouTube?
YouTube wants to make streaming a large part of its new gaming platform, too. It already offers 60fps streaming and conversion into its videos, but will now allow streamers to start a stream whenever they want -- not on a specific schedule.
You have to admit that YouTube's platform does sound quite a bit like Twitch. I can't imagine the legions of Twitch users will be all too pleased.