Twitch

Ten or fifteen years does not sound like a very long time, but in terms of technology, it might as well be centuries, because things evolve at the speed of light when it comes to processing power. The gaming industry was not very different a decade or so ago, but there were severe limitations in regards to Internet bandwidth and GPU power, so streaming your gaming sessions live over the web was a very far away dream.

Twitch is the long-awaited desktop application for the insanely popular streaming service with millions of users all over the world, and it should technically make your life easier in many ways. Regardless of whether you are a streamer or someone who just likes to watch other people play, the app is designed to provide you with everything you need without having to resort to a web browser or various other third-party tools.

After you log in using your Twitch or Curse credentials, the interface allows you to quickly get started by displaying a list of popular channels, as well as the option to create your own server with just a handful of clicks. Speaking of which, the social aspect of the platform is a lot more obvious in the app, because you can add friends to your list, as well as keep track of your favorite streamers or communities.

Streaming high-resolution content over the Internet is a lot easier to achieve today with decent hardware, but the process still needs to be optimized in order to provide the best experience to your viewers. Thankfully, you can customize a variety of options from within the application, including additional webcams you might want to use, or even your microphone level.

Certain game-specific settings are included as well, such as the possibility to sync your Battle.net account to Twitch and simplify things if you happen to stream Hearthstone, StarCraft II or Diablo 3 matches. Minecraft is another game that enjoys customized support within the application, since you can activate custom mods and manage them as you desire. Lastly, there are all sorts of notifications that can be enabled or disabled according to your preferences, so it’s a lot easier to keep in touch with your community or with new content from your favorite streamers.

Even if the app itself does not really add anything new to the whole Twitch experience, it certainly makes things a lot easier, while also helping you get rid of unreliable third-party tools or integrated solutions that sometimes slow things down. Hence, it features everything you might need in order to create content or watch others play games, all from within a modern and easy-to-use interface.