Beam, an “interactive livestreaming service”, has been acquired by Microsoft. Chad Gibson, partner group manager for Xbox Live, noted how this would help bridge the gap between playing games and watching them side by side.
“We at Xbox are excited about this convergence between playing and watching, and want to provide gamers with the freedom and choice to have great multiplayer experiences across all of Beam’s platforms. This acquisition will help gamers enjoy the games they want, with the people they want, and on the devices they want.”
An example of how Beam could be used with Microsoft services includes a Minecraft streamer providing challenges to viewers via video controls. In Sea of Thieves, Beam could be used to watch actions play out across different perspectives. It sounds interesting though how it will ultimately be implemented remains to be seen.
What are your thoughts on Microsoft acquiring Beam? Let us know in the comments.