Livestreaming Service Beam Acquired by Microsoft

By: AlanVMicrosoft has announced that they have acquired Beam, which is an interactive livestreaming service. Beam has been able to differentiate itself in a crowded field by allowing users to more easily communicate with streamers through the use of their interface on top of the usual chat experience found on sites such as Twitch.Chad Gibson, Partner Group Manager for Xbox Live, stated that, “This acquisition will help gamers enjoy the games they want, with the people they want, and on the devices they want.”Viewers are able to set challenges, request a certain path be taken, ask for spells to be cast and much more. It takes streaming from a passive activity to one where the audience is more invested in the outcome. It could possibly be laying the groundwork for where streaming is headed to in the future.Beam is currently available on the web browser of your choice, Android and iOS. Although, Microsoft will most likely look to bake this into the Xbox platform as soon as it can, and will probably have it be an exclusive service for its ecosystem. According to Microsoft, “Bringing Beam, their award-winning team and their inventive technology into the Xbox family supports our ongoing commitment to make Xbox Live more social and fun.”Want to learn more? Check out the video below.Source: Xbox Wire[youtube id="3vsehRhi3S0" align="center" mode="normal" autoplay="no"]