Why You Can Trust CNET Twitch launches its first game, karaoke fest Twitch Sings
After six months in beta, the game's now open to anyone.
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Twitch Sings, the first game from the streaming site, had been in beta for six months.
Amazon's gameplay streaming site Twitch launched on Saturday its first original game, opening up its live karaoke player Twitch Sings so almost anyone in the world can belt out tunes live online.
Twitch is one of the pioneers of streaming live broadcasts of people playing video games, but Twitch Sings puts it in the role of game publisher for the first time. It'll compete against apps like Smule, a mobile-based live karaoke system that's been popular for years.
Twitch Sings has been available for some streamers to play in a pilot beta version for about six months, and broadcasts of those performances have been available for anyone to watch. Saturday marks Twitch opening up the game for almost anyone to play.
The company called it a worldwide launch, but a few markets are excluded because of issues around licensing rights. South Korea, for example, isn't included.
To make the live karaoke broadcast more interactive, the game lets viewers request songs, cheer to activate light shows, and send singing challenges to the streamers. Performers can sing solo or in a duet with somebody who already recorded their rendition of the same song. Performers can also broadcast video of themselves or perform through a personalized avatar.