Twitch has rolled out another feature designed to bring viewers closer together. The livestreaming service now supports SharePlay on iPhone and iPad, so up to 32 people can watch the same stream while they’re on a FaceTime call.
Everyone on the call will need to log in to the Twitch app — the service confirmed to Engadget that each person will count as an individual viewer. The first time you open a stream while you’re on FaceTime, Twitch will ask whether you want to play it for yourself or everyone on the call, and it will remember your choice. If you choose to share it with everyone, SharePlay will sync the stream on everyone’s devices, so they’re all watching the same moment simultaneously. Play and pause controls will sync across devices too.
Anyone on the call can move everyone over to another Twitch channel. Everyone will be able to interact with the streamer’s chat, follow or subscribe to them and send Bits from their own account. You can watch the stream in either portrait or landscape orientation but, at least for now, you can’t continue a SharePlay session on Twitch’s Apple TV app.
A SharePlay session ends when the stream is closed, you leave the FaceTime call or end SharePlay. If you close the stream, you’ll be asked if you want to end it for yourself or everyone. Choosing the latter won’t actually close the stream on everyone else’s devices, but playback won’t be synced.
Twitch is one of the biggest streaming platforms around. It’s a welcome addition to the growing lineup of services that support SharePlay, which Apple rolled out last month in iOS 15.1. Corralling a bunch of friends on a FaceTime call to watch some killer speedruns at Awesome Games Done Quick sounds like a fun way to spend time together, even when you’re in your own homes.
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