Gamification is changing the whole landscape of live streaming, for both the viewer and the streamer.

Right now, we’re seeing a new wave of streaming platforms utilize gamification to challenge the market leaders Twitch and YouTube. Streaming channels like Kick, DLive, and RewardedTV are focusing specifically on viewer rewards, and gamification, to increase audience retention.

This is a testament to the fact that it’s not sufficient to have just viewers anymore; viewers need to be active participants in the modern streaming climate.

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Opportunity

Why is there such a big opportunity for new streaming platforms? Firstly, the global streaming industry is growing, and is projected to reach over $250 billion by 2032.

Indeed, the streaming industry is naturally evolving and improving, as the market continues to expand. With this evolution, we’re seeing many viewers leave the saturated markets of YouTube and Twitch to try something new, and see what other platforms have to offer. What is more, streamers are moving away from YouTube and Twitch because the monetization options are prohibitive and restrictive to their goals. Ultimately, streamers need to maximise income and visibility.

Therefore, Twitch’s 50/50 revenue share policy, and YouTube’s over-saturated market, is driving content creators to platforms which offer more a favourable environment for monetization.

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The monetization problem

For streamers, traditional monetization methods are both unreliable, and insufficient in the current market. Direct monetization through subscriptions, donations, and tips is highly volatile, and dependent on having a loyal, emotionally invested audience.

Moreover, advertising revenue often requires a substantial viewership base before it becomes significant. Until a new streamer is garnering a major following, making money through ad revenue sharing is simply unrealistic. Then, there’s sponsorships and brand deals, which are great when they come, but it requires the streamer to have already experienced a degree of fame and success.

After all, in today’s streaming world, keeping the viewer engaged has never been more challenging. The amount of choice out there for the viewer means that streamers have a real battle on their hands to make a living, and keep their viewers tuned in. In summary, it’s a tough world out there for new streamers to monetize their streams, if they’re going by traditional means.

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Viewer rewards

Nowadays, streaming platforms need to create novel ways to keep the audience engaged, and build brand loyalty. As a result, we’re seeing an evolution in gamified, viewer rewards. For example, there’s Twitch Channel Points, which can be redeemed for various on-channel perks, and enhance viewer loyalty on the channel.Also, Twitch streamers can offer “Badges” or emotes to subscribers, offering added incentives for viewers to participate or contribute financially.

Then, there’s DLive and RewardedTV, which leverage blockchain technology to reward viewers with tokens, and digital collectibles, for making contributions. This is a significant development in the world of streaming, because it paves the way for viewers to earn cryptocurrency rewards for their participation on streams. With these added incentives built into the ecosystem, we are looking at a very bright future for live streaming, filled with viewer participation and brand loyalty.

In turn, the content creator can implement a system of meaningful viewer rewards, and build a deeper, more meaningful connection with their audience. Moreover, streaming becomes a more interactive, engaging, and potentially lucrative environment for both users and creators.

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W4LL bounties

In this new, dynamic streaming environment, W4LL is taking gamified rewards to the next level with its AI-powered toolkit. W4LL is an innovative browser extension that lives on top of your streams, and can be utilized to great effect by viewers and streamers alike.

Within the W4LL toolkit, streamers can customize viewer rewards, and utilize a host of immersive tools to keep their audience engaged. Furthermore, streamers have an alternative path to monetization in the form of sponsored bounties. W4LL sponsored bounties leverage AI to get streamers paid, viewers rewarded with points, and game studios exposure, and performance data.

The way it works is: a game studio will assign a bounty to a streamer, and the streamer will be paid cash by that studio upon completion of the bounty. However, this revolutionary tool also has many more layers to it. For instance, there are tiered multipliers, which mean that based on viewer numbers and impressions, streamers can be paid an additional percentage. This benefits the game studio, because they’re trying to get as many eyes as possible on their new title, and with a limited budget, they need guaranteed return on investment.

For the streamer, they’re incentivised to complete the bounty to the best of their ability, and to the biggest audience possible. Also, for the viewer, they’re incentivized to watch and participate in the completion of the bounty, which will gain them W4LL points.

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W4LL Points

W4LL is a platform that brings together the gaming community under one, convenient, AI-powered hub. Through the aforementioned bounties, there are challenges, interactive polls or quizzes connected to the bounties, which are there to engage the viewer. Then, there’s AI auto clipping, which captures all the key highlight moments from the stream. What is more, viewers are encouraged to participate and rack up W4LL points, which can be redeemed in the W4LL shop for exclusive perks like game keys, and in-game assets.

Therefore, the viewer is not only immersed in the stream, but they’re incentivized to collect points and gain access to exclusive gaming rewards. For example, the W4LL shop is home to various coupons, and one of those coupons could gain the viewer access to a skin in their favourite game. All they would need to do is earn enough W4LL points in order to redeem that coupon.

Thus, W4LL is a product of this new era of gamified viewer rewards, and leverages AI to build in cutting edge streamer tools like challenges, bounties, and AI auto clipping. In essence, W4LL brings together the gaming community under one seamless browser extension, where viewers, streamers, and game studios share a mutually beneficial relationship. For more information about W4LL’s gamified viewer rewards, or its immersive AI tools, visit the W4LL socials.