Twitch released a small but nice product update on Thursday, introducing a new tool that streamers can use to create and share short, vertical video clips in seconds.
The new clip editor is accessible from the clip manager in the creator dashboard. Clicking on “Edit and share clip” will open the nifty editing tool that simplifies the work. You can choose a split view, which captures two rectangular portions of a clip at once (usually the game stream and the camera), or keep them optimized with a full vertical crop of the clip. The only other option is a button to insert your channel name, which will be inserted in the upper part of the clip.
Within the clip editor, Twitch offers direct integration for social sharing to YouTube Shorts. Direct sharing to TikTok or Instagram Reels isn’t currently supported — and it’s easy to do manually — but Twitch plans to add more integrations in the future.
“We’re committed to helping streamers grow, and this is just part of our broader strategy of helping streamers find new viewers while making it easier to promote their content on and off Twitch,” the company said the update.
Twitch streamers will likely be relieved that a workflow previously linked them to third-party tools such as StreamLadder is now integrated into the platform itself. Ultimately, the feature update makes Twitch feel more connected to the broader social media ecosystem, a boon for a platform that works well with others and one for streamers who rely on cross-promotion to build their audience.
Unlike other social media platforms that have suffered identity crises for several years (if you look at you, Instagram), Twitch has long had a single-minded focus on its core product: long-form live streaming. While Twitch’s new commitment to vertical short videos is a small thing, it’s easy to see how the company could further leverage clips to help new streamers get discovered.
Twitch’s focus on live streaming is a double-edged sword. Discovery remains a weak point on the platform — and one that locks creators into grueling streaming schedules and, importantly, incentivizes more live time. But the company’s leadership seems to be well aware of this fact and understands that the long-term sustainability of streaming is one of the biggest challenges facing the platform today.
Despite its strong focus on live streaming, there’s nothing stopping Twitch from getting creative with short videos to solve some of its discovery problems. For now, the new clip editor is just a handy fix for overworked developers, but Twitch might be wise to build it into something much bigger down the road.
