Sony Axes PS4 UStream Features, Asks Players to Switch to Twitch and Others

Some bad news for video game streaming. Sony has revealed plans to axe UStream support for the PlayStation 4, a feature that lets players broadcast their gameplay to the world.

Starting August 1, broadcasting to USteam and viewing streams will both be removed from the PS4 itself and the “Live from PlayStation” area. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate your understanding,” the announcement reads.

Fortunately, all is not lost. Sony has highlighted that players can still use Twitch, YouTube, and Dailymotion to stream gaming through the PS4.

In ways, the move is not entirely unexpected. UStream gets under 6.5 million U.S. unique visitors a month, where Twitch gets more than double that, according to Quantcast.

There’s also the different directions the two platforms are taking. IBM bought UStream back in January 2016, setting up a new cloud video unit geared more at enterprise offerings. The service is used for a wide range of streaming events, like rocket launches, Mercury passing over the sun, and the arrival of a NASA satellite at Jupiter.

Twitch, on the other hand, is more specifically geared towards a gaming audience, introducing a feature where viewers can tip streamers through chat emojis. UStream will be missed by some, but perhaps considering the wealth of more suitable options on the market, it’s not entirely unexpected.