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‘We’re not trying to be TwitchTok’: Twitch adds new short-form video feature
For Twitch streamers, on-platform discoverability has always been a major issue. Twitch has tried to address this, with mixed success. Now, the platform is making its biggest swing yet.
Starting early next year, Twitch will let creators upload short-form videos made outside the platform. Announced during the keynote at TwitchCon 2026 in San Diego, the move is aimed at improving on-platform discovery and creating more ad inventory. Twitch’s goal isn’t to make clips into a TikTok-like destination, execs say, but to help viewers discover creators and tune into their livestreams, where creators make most of their money.
The new uploads build on Twitch’s existing Clips tools, which have let creators and viewers clip livestreams and share them on-platform for more than a decade. But clips made or shared outside the platform are now a central part of creator culture.
“It’s a smart thing for them to do. You want to follow your favorite Twitch creators but you aren’t able to catch them live at that moment, so you’re going to TikTok or you’re watching old uploads on YouTube,” said Eric Bogard, CEO of UnderCurrent Talent.
Cross-platform follower conversion is difficult, especially for streamers. “Every data point will always show you that getting people to click over different platforms doesn’t work really at all,” said Tim McArdle, co-founder and chief content officer at creative studio Wildcatter.
Twitch’s chief product officer Mike Minton said the platform had “missed an opportunity” to make clips happen on Twitch. Historically, Twitch creators’ short-form content goes viral on TikTok, X, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram, racking up millions of views.
McArdle said that, though Twitch is a bit behind the game, these features could fundamentally change the platform. “They needed to do it, and for a company that produces a lot on Twitch, we’re excited about it,” he said.
Twitch streamers Vio and Frogan were less optimistic about the new short-form push. “People don’t go to Twitch to find clips or videos. They go to YouTube or TikTok,” said Vio. “They need to let the Clips thing go. No one is going to watch clips on Twitch natively,” said Frogan. Dan “Onepeg” Marshall, who has over 72,000 followers on the platform, said it’s a good move for the overall ethos of Twitch.
Twitch already has an existing “Clips” tab on both its mobile and desktop versions, but it will also add a new “Category Recap” shelf that will appear on category pages, which will populate with clips and recaps. Marshall found the Category Recaps the most interesting feature announced, noting it could be a positive for creators in specific categories trying to catch eyeballs.
“Of all of the things Twitch has tried to pull in the last several years, this is probably one of the better ideas for discoverability if it does more than just show clips of the largest creators in each category,” he said.
Switching Twitch up
With this investment in short-form content, Twitch feeds will eventually become more personalized for users, whose viewing habits will dictate whether they’re fed more short-form content or more streams
“We’re not trying to be TwitchTok,” he clarified. Instead, Twitch hopes these new features will help creators get discovered on-platform, which will make it easier to funnel viewers into livestreams, which is where they make their money.
“Will people consume as much of the clips on Twitch as TikTok? Probably not, but that’s OK… the utility of why they’re doing it and how it’s going to be used is different,” said McArdle.
Twitch’s new editing tools will make it easier to find exciting moments and turn them into clips. That could be a boon for smaller creators who don’t have the money to hire an editor or the time to edit content on an external app or program after they’ve been livestreaming for hours. Vio and Marshall wondered whether AI would power these features. Vio said the existing AI tools have been “ass so far.”
Minton told Digiday he’s focused on the “torso and long tail of creators” on Twitch. A more robust creator platform with better discoverability means more creators making money.
Allowing creators to upload externally made clips, rather than just chopped up, unedited versions of their streams, adds even more inventory to the platform. “It sounds like they’re trying to capture more inventory as leverage from an advertising perspective,” said Justin Miclat, chief growth officer at talent and brand management company Click Media.
Minton said increased audiences are what advertisers care about, and that Clips can help activations organized directly between brands and creators.
For creators however, the advertiser opportunity won’t yet translate into direct revenue. Minton confirmed that, though there are ads nestled amongst clips, there’s no direct monetization for short-form on Twitch just yet.
“Twitch is mostly live monetization, so the transition from the short form into live is where you’re going to make your money,” Minton said. “70 percent of it directly from your fans versus ad-supported. I do think over time we will find ways for ads in and around clips that’ll make sense that won’t diminish the user experience but will increase those earning opportunities for creators.”
Ultimately, this short-form push should help content creators on Twitch get more eyes on their livestreams, a notoriously difficult task the platform has been struggling with for years.
“Live content isn’t amazing for discovery… You hop into [a stream], you may not understand what’s going on. It could be a dead moment in a stream, it’s just not great,” Minton said. “Whereas short form is amazing…you get a snapshot of a great moment, and you can decide: ‘Is this something I want to spend more time on?’ Yes, it is. Follow. Boom. Next time you open up the app, that streamer’s in the feed.”
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