It was just eight months ago when we introduced Mixer. Looking back on 2017, it’s hard to believe that so much has happened in such a short time….and it’s been an amazing feeling getting to bring our vision to life in a service and community unlike any other.
Looking Back at 2017
In 2017, we introduced 4-person co-streaming, enabling streamers to combine their streams and chat on Mixer into a single unified experience, and giving viewers a way to watch the action from multiple perspectives. Several unique Mixer-interactive game experiences were brought to life during 2017, giving streamers and viewers a totally new way to play. These included Minecraft, Hello Neighbor, Death’s Door, Killing Floor 2, and multiple Crowd-Play enabled games from Telltale Games. Also in 2017, Mixer made a big investment in mobile broadcasting with the launch of the Mixer Create app for streamers and a new Mixer app for viewing, both free to download on iOS and Android devices.
We added support for 21 languages, making it easier to enjoy the full Mixer experience around the world. And Mixer HypeZone was born, catering to fans of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and battle-royale experiences. With HypeZone, you get 24×7, non-stop action with a channel dedicated to watching the final moments of matches in PUBG (high concentration of Chicken Dinners here!). Although still in beta, the HypeZonePUBG channel is closing in fast on one million views.
2017 was also a big growth year for new and existing Mixer Partners. A special shout out to all the new Partners who joined the Mixer community from around the world, as well as the many up-and-coming streamers who have made Mixer the home for their growing communities. We also celebrated a very special milestone for one of our Mixer vets—Siefe reached more than 1 million views on November 16 (a Mixer first). And we’re cheering on several Partners who took the plunge and became full-time streamers on Mixer, including LenaAxios, Covent, LuckyShots and many more!
We’ve been humbled by all of your support and interest, and we’re completely blown away with how quickly the Mixer community has grown. 2017 was also the year where Mixer exceeded more than 10 million active users in a month for the first time —a milestone we’re all super proud of. You all watched and interacted with streams ranging from PUBG to cooking shows…. from Minecraft to Clash Royale…. and everything in between.
Looking Ahead in 2018
But even with all that’s happened in 2017…..we’re just barely getting started. 2018 is already shaping up to be an even bigger year for Mixer.
Last week down in San Antonio at PAX South, our Mixer Partners turned out in force, streaming non-stop from the show floor, showing off built-in Mixer interactivity in the upcoming game, The Darwin Project, and sharing their Mixer love with PAX South attendees throughout the weekend. We’re already looking forward to seeing even more of you at PAX East in Boston later this Spring and at E3 in June.
On the technology side, we’re continuing to refine and expand the HypeZone experience based on your feedback. You’ll see improvements and new capabilities coming to HypeZone in the coming months. We’re also working with numerous game publishers to bring Mixer interactivity to even more games soon, along with continued investment in new interactive capabilities for streamers to take advantage of!
Supporting Mixer Streamers
For our Mixer Partners, we are investing in new ways for them to connect with their viewers and build successful communities on Mixer. As part of this, we’re excited to share that the Mixer Direct Purchase program is now in testing and will be launching broadly soon! With Mixer Direct Purchase, viewers can purchase digital games and game DLC directly through the Mixer streaming platform. When you’re watching a Mixer Partner playing a game or DLC that you want to own, you can purchase directly from the stream you’re watching. Mixer partners will earn a percentage from all purchases made through their stream, in turn helping them to continue to bring great content to their Mixer community. To start with, Mixer Direct Purchase will be available for all games in the Microsoft digital store, including more than 5,000 games across Xbox and Windows 10! Our aspiration is to make even more content available through Direct Purchase down the road.
Also coming soon is the ability to donate to your favorite content creators directly through Mixer. While streamers can continue using external donation services, we’re adding the option for viewers to donate directly on the platform, without having to leave Mixer. And by popular demand, we are adding the ability to subscribe to specific channels inside the Mixer app on Xbox One (similar to what you can do today on the web and mobile). Stay tuned, as we’ll have more details to share soon about each of these programs in the coming weeks and months.
Finally, to everyone in the Mixer community: THANK YOU! We appreciate the energy, passion and welcoming attitude that you bring to the Mixer community every day. As a small token of thanks to each of you for being such a big part of Mixer in 2017, we’ve made 3 new global emotes available on Mixer today to celebrate these milestones!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported the Mixer community in 2017, and a huge welcome to Mixer in 2018.
See the rest of the story on Xbox Wire
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PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Passes 3 Million Players on Xbox One
Source: Xbox Blog
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