To watch or to play, it is in the game: The game culture on Twitch.tv among performers, plays and audiences

Abstract The article focuses on the rising phenomenon of Twitch.tv as a worldwide entertainment provider with several million monthly viewers and an increasing number of developers, game journalists and opinion leaders actively involved. In order to stage the first exploration of the portal, a multidisciplinary framework (cultural studies, game studies, media studies) based on the concepts of ‘Circuit of Culture’, ‘diffused audience’ and ‘immersion’ was applied towards consumption, identity and production dimensions of Twitch.tv. Accordingly, a triangulation of methods was harnessed to assess these articulations empirically: N=16 plays were analysed and N=96 spectators replied to a quantitative survey. The results point towards shared patterns in media consumption and production, offering insights for future and more specific research. Specifically, three types of Twitch.tv streaming were observed: the challenge (performed by the ‘professional’), based on ruling the game and a top-down direction; the exhibition (performed by the ‘hedonist’), depending on the twitchers’ performance skills and partial interaction; and the exchange (performed by the ‘companion’), relying on nostalgic feelings and open to the spectators’ insights.