Twitch will give out $63,000 in prizes at TwitchCon cosplay contest

Livestreaming firm Twitch said it would give $63,000 in prizes for a creative cosplay contest at its TwitchCon 2016 event.

The prizes for cosplay, or costume play, further legitimizes the pastime as a growing part of gamer culture. Twitch, which has more than 100 million monthly users and 1.7 million broadcasters, will celebrate all things gaming at its TwitchCon 2016 event, which will take place September 30-October 2 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

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Broadcasters are being invited to enter the cosplay contest by streaming their costume construction in progress on Twitch Creative for a chance at the prize pool. The contest runs through August 22, and the top 20 finalists will be announced on September 9. Those winners will get $1,500 each to travel to TwitchCon.

Attending the show and taking part in select phases of the judging process are popular cosplayers Yaya Han and Commander Holly, and streaming personality GiantWaffle, among others to be announced.

“Cosplay has long been a staple on Twitch, whether it’s dressing up to mirror a character in a game that’s being played or showing viewers how more elaborate costumes are made,” said Bill Moorier, head of Twitch Creative, in a statement. “We are offering the largest prize pool in the history of cosplay to celebrate the effort that goes into creating these works of art which will then be spotlighted at TwitchCon 2016. With such high stakes, it should be pretty amazing to see what our community comes up with.”