{"id":40455,"date":"2016-10-02T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T19:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=40455"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:22:29","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T00:22:29","slug":"amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

\"Twitch
A still from Amazon\u2019s new game \u201cBreakaway\u201d into which its new virtual currency, Steam+ will be first introduced. (Image: Amazon Game Studios)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TwitchTV, the online video-game streaming platform owned by Amazon, will launch its own virtual currency, to be known as Stream+.<\/p>\n

The announcement came at the annual TwitchCon conference in San Diego on Thursday, and while details are scarce on exactly how the economy will function, it\u2019s clear that\u00a0esports gambling will be an integral part of the new digital currency.<\/p>\n

Patrick Gilmore of Amazon Game Studios told conference-goers that the currency will be introduced into the company\u2019s new team-based fighting game \u201cBreakaway,\u201d which was previewed at TwitchCon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call [Breakaway) a mythological sport brawler,\u201d Gilmore told GamesBeat. \u201cThe team set out to capture the hair-on-fire intensity of a brawler and the strategic depth of a brawler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazon Serious About Gaming<\/b><\/h2>\n

Stream+, meanwhile, is \u201ca loyalty points system where players can earn points by watching streams,” said Gilmore. Stream+ points can then be spent on \u201cpolls and wagering,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

A demo presentation at TwitchCon showed a player using Stream+ points to bet on the outcome of a Breakaway match for the chance to win more.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAmazon is very much all-in on games,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a toe-in-the-water kind of company. We are investing deeply.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Amazon is clearly very serious about its first foray into the video gaming business and is eager to emulate the success of Valve<\/a>, owner of the Steam games platform, by becoming a hit on the esports market. An in-game economy is, in this regard, par for the course, as it ramps up engagement in Amazon\u2019s new games among the Twitch community.<\/p>\n

“Over recent years Amazon has invested significantly into its first-party games development capability but has yet to make a commercial impact on the market,” Piers Harding-Rolls of the IHS Markit consultancy told the BBC. “Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch back in 2014 laid the foundation for the development of its own games that were built from the ground up to engage Twitch viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Extra Scrutiny on In-game Currencies <\/b><\/h2>\n

However, the new currency must be careful to avoid the label of underage gambling that has stained Valve\u2019s \u201cskin\u201d economy, around which a multi-billion dollar unlicensed online gambling industry was permitted to flourish. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Valve has now pulled the plug on the third-party skin gambling sites, but the furor in the press means that in-game virtual currencies are now being far more closely scrutinized by regulators.<\/p>\n

The UK Gambling Commission<\/a> said recently that it was \u201cextremely concerned\u201d about such items and their use as a gambling currency.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TwitchTV, the online video-game streaming platform owned by Amazon, will launch its own virtual currency, to be known as Stream+. The announcement came at the annual TwitchCon conference in San Diego on Thursday, and while details are scarce on exactly how the economy will function, it\u2019s clear that\u00a0esports gambling will be an integral part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":40456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-02T19:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-01T00:22:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"441\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/\",\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-02T19:00:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-01T00:22:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":441,\"caption\":\"A still from Amazon\u2019s new game \u201cBreakaway\u201d into which its new virtual currency, Steam+ will be first introduced. (Image: Amazon Game Studios)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting","description":"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting","og_description":"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2016-10-02T19:00:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-10-01T00:22:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":441,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/","name":"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg","datePublished":"2016-10-02T19:00:05+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-01T00:22:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Amazon wants to make a splash in video games and esports and so Twitch will be releasing its own virtual currency, Stream+","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/breakaway-2-800x441.jpg","width":800,"height":441,"caption":"A still from Amazon\u2019s new game \u201cBreakaway\u201d into which its new virtual currency, Steam+ will be first introduced. (Image: Amazon Game Studios)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/amazons-twitchtv-launch-game-currency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Amazon\u2019s TwitchTV to Launch In-Game Currency for Esports Betting"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}