Twitch Now Included in Amazon Prime Subscriptions

Amazon acquired the game streaming service Twitch back in 2014 and since then gamers have been wondering how the company would integrate it into the Amazon brand. Today we have our answer with the newly announce “Twitch Prime”. Twitch Prime will be included with Amazon Prime subscriptions and will include some bonus perks such as free game loot. Here is an excerpt from the announcement from Robin Fontaine:

Twitch Prime is a new premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. As a Twitch Prime member, you get free game loot every month, like instant access to the newest Hearthstone hero, Tyrande Whisperwind, or the new indie game, Streamline. You also receive discounts on new-release box games sold by Amazon during the pre-order period and for the first two weeks after launch. And on Twitch, once you link your Amazon Prime account to your Twitch account, you get an ad-free viewing experience, exclusive emotes and chat badge, and one free channel subscription every 30 days. When Twitch Prime members use their free channel subscription every month, the streamer gets paid just like any other subscription, so this introduces a new way to help support the streamers you love, even if you’ve never subscribed before. Or, you can just use it for crashing subscriber-only chat rooms. Your choice, boss!”’

There are a few issues I have with the statement. First of all, Prime members already receive discounts on physical game copies when you pre-order, this is nothing new at all and it’s being touted as a new feature. I know this because I am a Prime member and just got Forza Horizon 3 Ultimate at a discounted price.  Secondly, I don’t know how I feel about encouraging people to pretty much “troll” subscriber-only chat rooms with their one free subscription they get every 30 days. I’m not a Twitch streamer so I will leave it up to my colleagues at RGM to comment on this but to me “crashing” a subscriber-only chat room sounds like an attempt to “troll”.

The good thing about the news is that streamers still get paid whether it’s via a the free subscription or not. This is a good way for streamers to receive some more support from people as this opens up opportunities for gamers to support various streamers without hurting their wallet.

You can read more of the details on the official announcement including a FAQ which may come in handy.

What are your thoughts on Twitch Prime? Does it give a good value to gamers and streamers alike? Let us know in the comment section or in the RGM forums.