YouTube revamps its video game hub before shutting down Gaming app
YouTube's Gaming app gets the ax in March.
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YouTube has renovated its hub for gaming fans before it cuts off its dedicated Gaming app.
On Tuesday, Google's massive video service launched an updated homebase for videos about games and for streaming games as other people play them. The revamped hub is more consistent with how YouTube normally looks on a laptop or desktop. The Gaming hub already has more than 78 million subscribers.
In March, the company will shut down the YouTube Gaming app.
YouTube launched the YouTube Gaming app in 2015, along with a website that was essentially a simplified version of the app.
Gaming is a big deal on YouTube. Of the 1.9 billion monthly visitors to YouTube overall, about 200 million people come to watch other people playing games -- daily. But YouTube, which had been used to dominating free video on the internet globally, actually has stiff competition in gaming from Twitch. Owned by Amazon, Twitch focuses only on gaming videos, making it more nimble to address the specific needs of gamers. About 140 million people visit Twitch every month.
On the updated YouTube site, personalized gaming content is at the top of the page, along with live games and the latest gaming videos from your subscriptions. It has dedicated shelves for live streams and trending videos. Like in the app, you can follow your favorite games to get videos related to them from across YouTube.
In a move to bolster people who post gaming videos on YouTube, the company will be highlight creators "on the rise." Each week, it will showcase a new up-and-coming gaming creator. The revamped hub is launching in the US and will roll out to more countries in the future.
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