This title offers a look at the revolution in game live streaming and esports broadcasting. Every day, thousands of people broadcast their gaming live to audiences over the internet using popular sites such as Twitch, which reaches more than one hundred million viewers a month. In these new platforms, big esports events featuring digital game competitors stream globally, and audiences interact with broadcasters-and each other-through chat in real time. What are the ramifications of this exploding online industry? Going inside home studios and backstage at large events, this book investigates the rise of game live streaming and how it will alter how we understand media and audiences. Through extensive interviews and immersion in this gaming scene, it delves into the inner workings of the live streaming platform Twitch. The first book to explore the online phenomenon Twitch and live streaming games, it offers a vibrant look at the melding of private play and public entertainment.