User:PKiernan8/Live Streaming

Microsoft entered the live streaming scene when it acquired Beam, the Seattle-based company, in August of 2016. About a year after acquiring the company, the service was renamed to Mixer in May of 2017. The platform was the first to bring multiple features to live streaming such as interactive gameplay, where viewers could influence gameplay, and co-streaming, where viewers could watch multiple viewpoints of teammates in the same game. Like Twitch, viewers on Mixer can pay to subscribe to streamers on a monthly basis. Viewers may also buy "Embers", which is the e-currency used by the site, and may donate that to streamers as well. While Twitch is still the biggest company in the business, Mixer has attempted to raise its stock by signing multiple big streamers to Mixer-exclusive deals. These signings have included Tyler "Ninja" Blevins in August of 2019, Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek in October of 2019, and Cory "King Gothalion" Michael also in October of 2019.