Twitch has started trialling a new type of interactive video ad in closed beta – multiplayer ads. If you’re a streamer and opt to run a multiplayer ad on your channel, your lovely viewers should all be treated to the same ad at once.
Following the ad, they can then opt to participate in a real-time, interactive poll. You’ll be rewarded Bits directly from Twitch for each vote cast, and a special channel celebration will be triggered at the end to top off the “shared experience”.
For now, only a handful of selected creators can take part in the closed beta. If you’re among the lucky few, you’ll receive an email confirmation from Twitch and will soon have the option to initiate a multiplayer ad by clicking the ‘run ad’ quick action button in the Creator Dashboard. Multiplayer ads are currently in limited supply while Twitch continues to work on the system, meaning you can’t run an infinite number of them on your channel.
From a viewer perspective, multiplayer ads are labelled as such in the upper left-hand corner of the video player. While PC users will likely start seeing multiplayer ads straight away, they won’t be available for iOS and Android users until early December.
📢 We're excited to introduce a new ads format called Multiplayer Ads! Creators can run these ads which will:
• Count toward disabling pre-rolls
• Result in Twitch awarded Bits to the Creator based on poll interaction📚 https://t.co/lfyU5sp3Dg pic.twitter.com/yIb9j0dIaU
— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) November 17, 2020
While the majority will be shown the same ad, there might be differences depending on what country viewers live in. Twitch has also confirmed that Twitch Turbo users or subscribers “may not see” multiplayer ads as part of their ad-free benefits.
The rollout of multiplayer ads comes during a time of great difficulty for Twitch, as the company struggles to address widespread DMCA takedown notices sent to creators from rights holders. CEO Emmett Shear has now apologised, saying that “things can and must be better” for those affected.
