Gameplay recording platform Kamcord brings live game streams to mobile apps

Kamcord, a popular platform that lets game developers add gameplay recording features to their mobile apps, is today taking its first step into live streaming. The move is a notable one as competitors such as live game streaming service Twitch, now owned by Amazon, move into the mobile space and live streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat begin to gain traction among users.

Previously, Kamcord allowed its community to view uploaded gameplay videos through its community mobile apps or online, but now it’s letting users live stream their mobile gameplay to the community. For now, the live streaming feature is only available on the desktop through Kamcord’s web app for creators (although users can view the live streams in the Kamcord mobile apps), and the company has teamed up with a handful of notable video creators to kick off the launch of the feature. Some of the initial partners include Chief Pat, a YouTuber with 1.4 million subscribers, and Godson, another YouTuber with a 1 million+ subscribers, both of whom stream gameplay from the popular Clash of Clans game. The company has also brought on a total of 20 other partners, including popular Minecrafter AviatorGaming.

Here’s why Kamcord’s solution is better than the competition (aka Twitch), according to the company’s Head of Partnerships, Eric Edelman:

“In general, creators are frustrated with the status quo because mobile games are treated as a second-class citizen on existing platforms. Even though there’s a huge demand for mobile gaming content, advertisers and the platforms themselves prioritize PC/Console gaming first… We’ve heard from mobile gaming celebs that they’re looking for a holistic way to connect with their fans. Right now, to reach their audience they need to create a video for YouTube, promote it on Twitter, and then use Twitch if they want to live stream… We think that whole process can be centralized by creating one destination for all mobile-gaming-related content.This vision is a big reason why so many celebs have signed on as Kamcord Partners.”

At launch the uptake in gamers streaming from Kamcord’s web app will likely be limited by the number of gamers with desktop setups that allow them to stream from a connected mobile device (mostly Twitch users and those already recording mobile gameplay for other services). But the company is planning on launching the ability to live stream directly from Android in the near future. Unfortunately it told us it’s not currently possible on iOS.

Since last checking in, Kamcord shared some stats on its service. It’s now at 1 million registered user profiles and 50 million+ videos shared. Those stats follow the company passing Twitch late year in the number of unique content creators the service has with 1.3 million and a $15 million Series B led by game publishing heavyweight GungHo announced back in December. In total, Kamcord is available in over 600+ mobile games.

And mobile game streaming is likely about to be an even bigger topic of conversation as Apple prepares to introduce ReplayKit with iOS 9, its first native screen recording API for developers. Kamcord is already prepared for the introduction of the native screen recording features, however. Although its own SDK goes well beyond native screen recording features for developers and users, the company earlier this year launched support for screen recording of any game, not just those using its SDK, through Android’s screen recording API. It could make a similar move on iOS when ReplayKit is introduced.