Just because livestreaming video site Twitch is all about enabling people to broadcast gameplay from their bedrooms doesn’t mean it won’t also help them meet their buddies face-to-face.
Twitch is close to throwing its own convention, called TwitchCon, this September, and the company is announcing today that it plans to expand its global presence at events around the world. In addition to its previously announced plans to hit up Germany and GamesCom next month, the company is now also planning to have a booth at PAX Australia in Melbourne, the Electronic Game Show in Mexico City, and the Tokyo Game Show in Japan. But this isn’t only about getting Twitch a physical presence at conventions. The company is also working to improve the way its site operates in markets around the globe.
Twitch is turning on “new points of presence” (POP) in Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. These new Twitch outlets will better enable gamers in the aforementioned markets to get a better livestreaming broadcast and viewing experience than ever before.
“We are dedicated to a continued focus on our global community through enhanced infrastructure, localization, customer service, promotion, and event presence,” Twitch global strategy boss Jonathan Shipman said in a statement.
The company turned on some of these POPs in July and quietly tested them by adding a Japanese-language stream for the Evolution Championship Series 2015 fighting-game competition.
“As a result, the second most minutes watched [of the event] came from Japan where the stream attracted 1.4 million total views,” reads the Twitch press release.
This latest expansion comes after Twitch — under ownership of Amazon — improved its European performance with POPs in London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. It has also recently set up POPs in U.S. cities like Seattle, Chicao, Miami, and San Jose.