Creating content for the online world has been a big deal in video games for sometime now. Whether it's making a YouTube channel to host your Let's Play footage or uploading achievement guides and walkthroughs to help people out, gamers have been capturing and uploading their footage for years now. It's why the next generation of consoles, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, both contain DVR devices they're designed to make it easier for gamers to capture, upload and share their footage with the world. An extension of that idea is streaming; live video that's streamed through sites so people can watch whilst gamers play. It's been a big hit with the eSports community in particular; people at home can follow along with various competitions whilst also enjoying high level gameplay they might never experience. While Call of Duty isn't the biggest competitive game in the world, it's always been popular so it makes sense for Activision to embrace the eSport world and make it easier for people to get involved. By far the biggest name in streaming currently is Twitch. If you're a gamer and you've ever spent longer than five minutes on the internet, you've definitely heard of Twitch. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are both fully integrated with Twitch, making it even easier to get your gameplay to the people. It would be a relatively simple process for Call of Duty to make the most of this relationship; all they would really have to do is have an option on the menu to turn it on (or access the app to start it, at least). They could also feature streams (like the bigger competitions for example) to encourage more people to get involved with the competitive side - the series has experimented with options like this before but with the current hardware, and now is the time to make it as prominent as possible. It would be a small addition to Advanced Warfare but it's one that could pay off massively in helping Call of Duty re-establish itself as the biggest FPS on the market. Likelihood: Almost certain. Activision have already stated that the eSports community is a big priority for them and with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One both ready to make streaming easy, Sledgehammer would be foolish not to take advantage. Has the Advanced Warfare teaser excited you? What would you like Sledgehammer to introduce in the upcoming title? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
I have an addiction to achievements, a craving for new bands and a dream to become Captain America. I once finished second in a Mario Kart 7 tournament so I'm kind of a big deal.
