Microsoft Acquires Beam, An Interactive Gaming Livestreaming Company

Microsoft has acquired video game livestreaming company Beam. Beam describes itself as an “interactive livestreaming service” that allows people to not only watch but play along with livestreams as they are happening.

Microsoft for example provided that a user could watch a Minecraft livestream and give the streamer challenges and objectives through “simple video controls.” For an upcoming multiplayer game, Sea of Thieves, players could use Beam to watch the action unfold from different teams from multiple perspectives, giving a new outlook to how people view and interact with streamed games.

Microsoft gave Beam high praise for how it “evolved game streaming from a passive, watch-and-chat experience into one with real-time participation by allowing the viewer to directly influence a streamer’s gameplay and the live broadcast.”

Beam launched on January 5th of this year, following a beta period that saw “millions of hours” of streams, Beam co-founder and CEO Matt Salsamendi stated. 

By joining Microsoft, Beam will be able to “scale faster than [it’s] ever been able to before,” Salsamendi said. “We’re expanding the team, bolstering our infrastructure, and most importantly, continuing to grow and support the amazing community at Beam.”

For existing Beam users, nothing will change right now, Salsamendi said. In the future, users can expect “awesome new features” and “epic new interactive game integrations,” he stated.

Although Beam’s service isn’t entirely new for the industry, but Salsamendi says the service’s low latency is what makes it special. “You’re talking around 200 milliseconds between when the streamer does something in their game and when their viewers see it.”

Salsamendi will continue to lead the Beam team, which is being integrated into the Xbox Engineering Unit. However acquisition terms were not disclosed.

Although Microsoft did not specify much as to its plans for Beam, but they did say, “We look forward to sharing more about Beam and our vision for interactive game streaming in the future.”