Twitch Sings

Twitch Sings was a free-to-play karaoke video game developed by Harmonix and published by live streaming service Twitch. It was released on April 13, 2019 for Microsoft Windows and macOS.

Twitch Sings
Developer(s)Harmonix
Publisher(s)Harmonix
Twitch
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
macOS
ReleaseApril 13, 2019
Genre(s)Karaoke
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

Twitch Sings' servers closed on January 1, 2021. Twitch stated that they made the decision to close the game to "invest in broader tools and music services."[1]

Development

In October 2018 during TwitchCon, Twitch announced that they'd developed a karaoke video game in collaboration with Harmonix.[2] During the opening keynote, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear stated, "We believe in a new category of game that’s made to be streamed, where the audience isn’t just nice to have, they’re crucial to the experience, where the driver’s seat is big enough for your whole community. So we teamed up with Harmonix and built a game ourselves."[3] Attendees at the convention were among the first to test out the game.[4] An open beta would be launched later that month.[5]

Twitch Sings was released to the public on April 13, 2019 for Microsoft Windows and macOS. Mobile versions for iOS and Android were originally planned, but was never released.[6] Over 2,000 songs were available at launch.[7]

On September 4, 2020, Twitch announced that they would be closing Twitch Sings by 2021.[8] The platform removed videos and clips relating to the game on December 1, 2020, citing contractual obligations.[9] Twitch Sings servers were fully shut down on January 1, 2021.

Gameplay

Twitch Sings featured both single-player and multiplayer game modes. The main objective of the game was to sing a song as accurately as possible. A pitch meter helped players stay on key. Players can sing solo songs live, or create a duet with a fellow creator. In order to perform a duet, a player would record one half of a song. They would later send a video of their performance to another player who sings the second half of the song. The game's software would later merge the two videos into one song.[10] In a later update, Twitch added the ability to sing duets in real-time through a new party mode feature. Broadcasters were able to directly stream from the game. This allowed stream audiences to interact in various ways, such as voting on singing challenges for the broadcaster to attempt, along with sending in virtual ovations if they enjoyed the performance.[11]

Players were able to adjust their game experience in a variety of ways. They could either use their webcam or a customizable avatar to represent themselves once in game.[12] A number of different voice effects and world maps were also offered to players.[13]

References
  1. Stassan, Murray. "Spotify appears to be building a karaoke feature – just as Twitch shuts down Sings". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. Kaser, Rachel. "Twitch debuts group streaming and karaoke at TwitchCon". The Next Web. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  3. McWhertor, Michael. "Twitch and Harmonix team up for streaming karaoke game Twitch Sings". Polygon. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  4. Yin-Poole, Wesley. "Twitch Sings is a karaoke game for streamers built by Harmonix". Eurogamer. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. Constine, Josh. "Twitch announces group streaming and a karaoke game for its 1M concurrent viewers". TechCrunch. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. Gurwin, Gabe. "Twitch Adds New Built-In Karaoke Game for Streamers". IGN. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  7. Nesterenko, Oleg. "Twitch Debuts First Game, Twitch Sings". Game World Observer. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  8. Chalk, Andy. "Karaoke livestream game Twitch Sings faces the final curtain". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  9. Clayton, Natalie. "Free karaoke 'em up Twitch Sings is leaving the stage". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. Takahashi, Dean. "Twitch Sings lets streamers perform karaoke songs with audiences". VentureBeat. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  11. Araullo, Kenneth. "Twitch Sings, A Karaoke Video Game Made By Twitch, Is Launched". Player.One. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  12. Shanley, Patrick. "Twitch Launches Its First Game". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  13. Grayson, Nathan. "Twitch's New Karaoke Game Is Missing Some Of The Things I Love About Karaoke". Kotaku. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
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