In a new blog post announcing the return of Twitch integration to Xbox after a five year absence, Microsoft calls the feature - which is accessible directly via the Xbox guide, with the Twitch app no longer required - “re-engineered, and better than ever”. Those eager to get set up will first need to navigate to the “Capture and Share” tab on their console’s guide and select the “Live streaming” option. That’ll initiate the Twitch account linking process and once that’s complete, a new “Go live now” button will appear, giving users the option to instantly start streaming games downloaded to their console. Before hitting that button, however, users have the option to first name their stream and set up their audio and webcam - with the ability to manage game and mic audio levels (including party chat), as well as resolution and bitrate, all available from the dashboard. “Want to swap games midstream?,” Microsoft adds. “No worries, a pause screen will be displayed when you are not in game, and your console will automatically update the game you’re playing on Twitch.” Once live, a stream will be viewable by all Twitch users on any device, and Xbox owners can choose to receive a notification whenever anyone they follow starts a stream - with the option available within the Preferences > Xbox Notifications menu. More detailed instructions on all the above can be found on Microsoft’s blog. Xbox’s Twitch integration has been available to testers for several months now, and Microsoft says some “awesome new features” will be coming soon following today’s full launch and Xbox dashboard update, based on earlier user feedback.
