YouTube Gaming, the platform the company first unveiled back in June to bring live gameplay broadcasting to YouTube, is today expanding to new territory including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
That means that users in those countries will now be able to use the YouTube Gaming apps to upload content and live stream through the platform. Back in October, an update to the YouTube gaming app brought Mobile Capture for Android users, allowing users to stream gameplay from their phones without any intermediate hardware. It also introduced a Sponsorships feature in beta that allows viewers to contribute directly to their favorite creators.
And to accompany the rollout to new countries today, YouTube is also making some improvements to the service including enhancements to homepage navigation, game and channel browsing, and a new “dedicated live destination”: “You’ll find a new “Live” tab on the homepage that brings together top streams, top games, and streams from channels you’re subscribed to.”
New for Android specifically is an upgrade with support for “quality switching, 60fps playback, and DVR mode,” as well as a new pop-out player:
- Homepage navigation: Say goodbye to the sidebars! We’ve simplified the homepage to make it easier to find what you’re looking for.
- Game and channel browsing: We’ve added pages for you to manage your games and channels, plus discover new ones.
- Dedicated live destination: You’ll find a new “Live” tab on the homepage that brings together top streams, top games, and streams from channels you’re subscribed to.
- Android live playback: Our Android live stream player joins iOS and the HTML5 desktop player with an upgrade to support quality switching, 60fps playback, and DVR mode.
- Pop-out player: On Android, you can now pop out the YouTube Gaming player to keep it visible above other apps on your device.
And lastly, Google teased that “many more countries are coming soon”
