Irreverent indie house Devolver Digital releases the Xsplit game-broadcasting tool on Steam

You probably get a lot of your games through the Steam download portal, and now one of the better game-broadcasting tools is on the service as well.

SplitmediaLabs and publisher Devolver Digital have teamed up to bring Xsplit into the Steam ecosystem. Gamers can now get the free or premium versions of the video-broadcasting software in the same place as all of their latest PC releases, and that Steam service — which Valve owns and operates — will keep it updated automatically. Gamers can use Xsplit to share live video of themselves playing PC or console games on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, or a number of other sites. Both the entry-level Gamecaster and power-user Broadcaster versions of Xsplit are available, and you can get them for free. You can also purchase an Xsplit Premium license for $10 per month.

Xsplit already attracts 200,000 new members every month even while most people were primarily downloading it through its official website. But now that it’s on Steam, which has millions of monthly active gamers, that number could skyrocket. This is SplitmediaLabs’ latest efforts to grow the appeal of Xsplit which comes in tandem with key new hires for its product and community teams.

In a canned statement, SplitmediaLabs chief marketing officer John Howe Marshall explained that his staff is “thrilled” to work with Devolver Digital.

“Getting started with live streaming right now couldn’t be easier,” said Marshall. “And we’re looking forward to ushering in a new wave of awesome content creators and help them shape the future of gameplay broadcasting.”

For Devolver, this is another move that proves you cannot predict what it will do next. The company is best known for bringing independently developed games to the market, but it has also established a reputation for making those releases feel like special events. For example, it sent a clown to publications in the San Francisco Bay Area for the release of the point-and-click adventure game Dropsy.

Devolver is also known for its irreverent tone, and that’s not changing for its Xsplit partnership.

“There will never be a time in my life that I understand nerds watching other nerds play nerd games on the internet,” Devolver Digital’s fictional chief financial officer Fork Parker said in a statement. “That said, you should buy Xsplit from me and then stream all sorts of nonsense and get them subs.”