How to Use Squad Stream

Squad Stream lets up to four creators go live and stream together in one window. It's the perfect way to show your community every moment of your team’s battle royale match, give them a virtual seat at your tabletop gaming stream, or whatever else you have in mind.

Creators can join forces right from the dashboard, stream content they wouldn’t normally stream, and grow their communities all at the same time. Viewers get more angles on the action, a way to support more of their favorite streamers with ease, and a chance to chat with several great communities at once - or join a new one.

On this page:

 * Starting a Squad Stream
 * Frequently Asked Questions

STARTING A SQUAD STREAM
To start or accept an invite to a squad stream, find Squad Stream on the Quick Actions panel on your dashboard's Stream Manager. To send an invite, click Add a Channel and type the name of the channel you’d like to invite to your squad. You can invite up to 3 other channels. By default, you can invite any channel that is on your friend list, is a teammate, or is a channel that follows you. Make sure the channels are live before you invite them.

Once the other channels have accepted your invites, click Start Squad Stream This will enable a banner on the streamers' channel pages that allows viewers to watch in squad mode.

A squad stream ends when all members have left the squad. If an individual streamer leaves a squad, viewers who are watching in squad mode will remain in squad mode.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 * How do I change permissions for who’s able to invite me to a squad?
 * You can manage your permissions settings for Squad Streams from your Channel Preferences page. By default, anyone who is your friend, teammate, or a channel you follow will be able to invite you to a squad.


 * How are viewer counts calculated during a squad stream?
 * Any viewership you receive when your video player is in the primary slot will count towards your channel stats and be reflected in your channel analytics and stream summary.


 * How do I change which channel is in the primary slot?
 * Simply click on any of the other channel’s video player and it will swap into the primary slot.


 * How do I Follow, Subscribe, Cheer with Bits, and Chat in Squad Stream?
 * Viewers can chat or Cheer with Bits in whichever channel that is in the primary slot. Options for following or subscribing appear by either hovering over the squad member’s avatar at the top of the screen or over the video player for that squad member.


 * Do ads appear in Squad Stream?
 * Yes, viewers are able to see both pre-roll and manually triggered mid-roll ads while watching a Squad Stream. However, ads will only play in the channel that is in the primary slot. Viewers will be unable to switch views while an ad is playing. On mobile, ads will play in full screen.


 * Can viewers watch Squad Streams on mobile?
 * Yes, viewers are able to watch in squad mode via the Twitch mobile app. Viewers are able to watch up to 3 channels at once. For squads with 4 channels, viewers will be able to select which 3 of the 4 are displayed. Squad viewing is limited to 3 on the mobile app because of the need to be able to provide a consistent, optimal experience for all audiences.


 * How do Clips work with Squad Stream?
 * When a viewer clicks the Clip button on a video player from a Squad Stream, a clip of only that specific channel is created. There is currently no native way to capture a clip of the entire squad view, but it’s something we’re into for future development.


 * How do Past Broadcasts (aka VODs) work with Squad Stream?
 * Past Broadcasts of a squad stream will not display multiple streams. We are exploring solutions to enabling Squad Stream-compatible Past Broadcasts, but in the meantime, Past Broadcasts for channels that participate in a squad stream will only feature content from that individual channel.


 * How do Extensions work with Squad Stream?
 * Extensions will be disabled for viewers who watch in squad mode. However, Extensions will continue to function for those viewers who watch in non-squad mode.


 * How do Hosts and Raids work with Squad Stream?
 * When a channel Hosts or Raids a channel that is currently in a Squad Stream, it will only Host or Raid that single channel. Streamers who are in a Squad Stream cannot initiate a Host or Raid via the chat in squad view. However, they can still initiate a Host or Raid through the Dashboard widget or chat command from the channel page.


 * Why is Squad Stream only available to Partners?
 * We are rolling Squad Stream out to Partners first because of the need for video quality options (also known as transcodes) in order to ensure the best experience for viewers. Currently, all Twitch Partners receive video quality options on their streams by default, while Affiliates receive them as they're available, with priority access. Our plan is to make Squad Stream available to Affiliates and all other streamers as we continue expanding our transcodes capacity.


 * Why are video quality options (transcodes) important for Squad Stream?
 * We want to ensure the best Squad Stream experience for everyone. To do that, Squad Stream relies on video quality options to display the channels in non-primary slots in lower quality modes like 480p. Most streamers stream in 720p or above, so without video quality options, the squad viewing experience can be taxing since it would display up to four 720p+ streams at once.


 * What’s the best way to ensure that video and audio is synchronized as much as possible?
 * We recommend that all streamers participating in a Squad Stream have low latency settings on (found in the Dashboard under Preferences > Channel) and use a third-party voice app to communicate.


 * What happens to viewers when a squad member leaves a squad stream?
 * When a streamer leaves a squad, their viewers will remain in squad mode. If you plan on leaving during a live Squad Stream, make sure to let your viewers know. If you are the squad leader, the first streamer you invited will become the new squad leader.