The changes were revealed in a new Twitch Patch Notes stream that detailed forthcoming features. The tag system will soon be updated so that streamers can create custom tags. What’s more, the maximum limit will increase from five to 10. At present, streamers can only select five from a preset list of tags that were introduced last year. The change will allow streamers to be more specific with their use of tags. An automated moderation system will be implemented to prevent tag abuse, as well as layers to identify and report users using abusive tags.
Another new feature coming soon is Guest Star, which will allow streamers to host up to five other streamers on their channel. “Guest Star is a tool that makes it easy, safe and fun for creators to bring guests - whether it’s other creators or viewers - on stream,” explained senior product manager Chris Miles. This will be ideal for co-streams, podcasts and talk shows on the platform.
Within the Guest Star presentation another feature was spotted: shareable banlists. As streaming reporter Zach Bussey noted, the Shared Ban feature will allow streamers to share their banlists with others.
This is a major step towards protecting marginalised streamers on Twitch, as they can share knowledge of abusive and/or bot accounts. However, it’s unclear if this feature exists outside of Guest Star or how the ban information will be shared. Lastly, Twitch is introducing the Channel Switcher, which will allow viewers to easily cycle between streams. This was teased last week to mixed reactions.
