Reimagining the live-streaming experience

In less than a decade, Twitch became the dominant live-streaming platform for gamers, creators, and global fan communities. Millions of people weren’t just watching. They were participating in real time.

The audience was massive.
The engagement was real.
The monetization potential was still underdeveloped.

We partnered with Twitch to help close that gap.

The Context

A Platform Rich in Attention, Light on Leverage

By late 2020, Twitch was serving over 15 million daily active users across gaming, sports, entertainment, and live events. But like many fast-growing platforms, product velocity had outpaced monetization clarity.

• Highly engaged, real-time audiences
  
• Strong creator ecosystems
  
• Underutilized interactive and transactional surfaces
  
• A developer platform with unrealized potential
  

The opportunity wasn’t to invent new attention. It was to design better ways to activate the attention already there.

The Role We Played

Platform Partner. Experience Designer. Revenue Catalyst.

We joined Twitch in 2018 as a cross-functional partner, working across product, developer, marketing, and events teams.

Our mandate was clear: increase adoption of Twitch Extensions and help transform interactive stream experiences into sustainable monetization engines for developers, creators, and Twitch itself.

What We Built Together

From Passive Viewing to Participatory Systems

We helped architect and execute a comprehensive engagement strategy that touched the platform at every level.

Our work included:

• Repositioning the Extensions program to clarify value for developers and creators
  
• Overhauling the developer website and rebuilding the developer portal
  
• Designing and launching new interactive Extensions
  
• Creating clear onboarding flows to reduce developer friction
  
• Supporting large-scale partner integrations across sports, gaming, and live events
  
• Producing video, scripts, and platform marketing to drive adoption
  

This work spanned teams and initiatives including Extensions, Platform Marketing, Developer Experience, Twitch Partnerships, Audience Marketing, and Global Events.

Activation at Scale

Where Digital Met Physical

To bring the platform’s interactive potential to life, we also designed experiential activations that made Twitch’s digital mechanics tangible.

• Token-operated platform demo machines
  
• A claw-drop arcade machine dispensing Twitch merch
  
• Live experiences at TwitchCon and other global events
  

These activations didn’t just promote features. They taught interaction through play.

From Viewers to Participants

The Shift

From passive audiences to active participants.
From experimental features to platform-level monetization.
From isolated products to a cohesive engagement ecosystem.

By aligning product, developer experience, and storytelling, we helped Twitch turn real-time attention into real economic opportunity.

The Outcome

A More Playable, Profitable Platform

The systems we helped build enabled Twitch to:

• Increase developer adoption of Extensions
  
• Expand monetization surfaces without disrupting community culture
  
• Support high-profile integrations including the NBA G-League, PUBG, and the Tokyo Olympics
  
• Communicate platform value clearly across creators, developers, and partners
  

Most importantly, the work respected what made Twitch special while strengthening how it scales.

The Takeaway

On live platforms, participation is the product.

The strongest ecosystems don’t just capture attention. They invite interaction, reward creativity, and design for play. That’s where value compounds.