Microsoft delays Twitch for Xbox One until next year

The Xbox One is about to launch this week and one feature for the console will not be available at launch. Twitch, the very popular streaming service that allows gamers to broadcast themselves and watch other people playing a game will be delayed until January 2014.

You will still be able to watch streaming through the service, you just won’t be able to stream from the console. This might be a blow to some people that were looking forward to showing everyone how impressive the cars look in Forza 5, but I think humanity will survive.

Twitch did say in a statement why streaming won’t launch with the Xbox One.

“We are working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community,” said the firm in a statement on Microsoft’s Xbox Wire site. “So while this feature won’t be available right away, we’ll let you know as soon as it is ready.”

Xbox Live Gold members will have access to all the content on Twitch from the Xbox One’s launch, as well as using the console’s Snap functionality for convenient viewing.

The Snap mode on Xbox One allows you to do two things at once on the same screen. The person can watch Twitch videos while playing their favorite game, watching TV or using another app.

You’ll also be able to jump to the app using the voice command, “Xbox, go to Twitch.”

One thing that will be exclusive to the Xbox One app is the addition of achievements such as the Night Owl achievement for watching late at night, or join 100,000 viewers simultaneously watching a broadcast on Twitch to earn the Standing Room Only achievement.

There will be 10 Achievements at launch with the Twitch viewing experience.

Here’s what you’ll need to do to earn each:

• Watch one hour of live video on Twitch to become a Newcomer
• Watch 10 hours of live video on Twitch for Competitive
• Watch 100 hours of live video on Twitch for Best Viewer
• Watch one hour of live video on Twitch channels that have less than 10 viewers to be the Hipster
• Watch 10 hours of live video on Twitch channels that have less than 10 viewers and become the Talent Scout
• Max Bandwidth is received by watching a single channel on Twitch for more than eight hours consecutively
• Around The Clock is exactly that, just watch at least one minute of live video on Twitch in each hour of a full day
• Prime Time, simply: watch a total of 10 hours of live video on Twitch between peak viewing hours from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., on a weekday

The firm said its goal is to deliver Twitch streaming during the first part of 2014.

The video below details Twitch on Xbox One

Let me know your thoughts or opinions about Twitch being delayed and what game you will broadcast when it releases in 2014.