Google is currently preparing to launch the latest feature of its subsidiary YouTube sometime today.
Dubbed as YouTube Gaming, the new site aims to rival Twitch by providing users with live game streaming service.
Unlike the main YouTube site, YouTube Gaming is dedicated to featuring content solely related to video games. It automatically organizes videos based on their content. With this system, users will be able to easily view the most popular videos about their favorite games, according to Ars Technica.
The site features over 25,000 pages containing streaming videos, trailers and other promotional material for various titles.
Its search box has also been tailored to cater to video games. As The Next Web noted, typing the word "Call" will not lead to "Call Me Maybe" but "Call of Duty" instead.
In addition, through its own dashboard, users will be able to live stream their games anytime they want. It also features a DVR mode which can allow gamers to rewind the last four hours of the streamed video.
Google's YouTube Gaming can potentially threaten the popularity of Twitch among gamers. Since Twitch users also turn to YouTube to post clips from their games, they can skip this extra step by streaming through YouTube Gaming directly.
Since 2011, Twitch has been the go-to site for users who want to stream their games. Due to its growing popularity, Google attempted to buy Twitch in July of last year for $1 billion. The two companies negotiated the terms of the acquisition but a month later, Google dropped out of the deal, Game Spot reported.
Instead, Amazon swooped in and purchased the game streaming site for $970 million. With the arrival of a parent company, many Twitch users became worried that the site's operation might change. But Amazon promised that it will not intervene with how the site conducts its business.
According to reports, Google backed out of the deal with Twitch due to antitrust issues. Since it is already the owner of YouTube, owning another major streaming site in the U.S. might cause certain organizations to question its overall operations.
To avoid any potential disputes, Google decided to walk away from the negotiations. Now, a year later, it seems the company has not yet forgotten about its desire to acquire a game-streaming site since it is all set to launch YouTube Gaming.
The launch of the site will be accompanied YouTube Gaming apps for Android and iOS devices.
