Twitch is upgrading its presentation capabilities with the addition of vertical viewing and dual-format streaming. The popular Amazon-owned gaming platform is also adding 2K video in open beta for all partners and affiliates, broadening accessibility for high-definition formats. In January 2024, Twitch began experimenting with HD including 4K, which remains in closed beta for select users. The format tests were part of Twitch’s Enhanced Broadcast initiative with Nvidia and OBS Studio, purveyor of the open broadcaster format. Creators with access to Enhanced Broadcasting in Twitch Studio can use dual formatting to simultaneously stream in horizontal and vertical formats.

Twitch CEO Dan Clancy shared the updates with attendees of the 10th Annual TwitchCon in Rotterdam on Saturday. A subsequent blog post indicates Twitch will be partnering with Aitum, maker of the streaming platform Vertical, for initial rollout.

“Portrait-mode streaming makes it a little easier to watch gameplay on your phone,” writes Engadget, adding that “until now, Twitch only supported the orientation for clips and IRL streams.” Clips are short video highlights creators are able to share following a stream, while “In Real Life” content focuses on non-gaming activities.

The dual-format mode will be convenient for creators who wish to cater to different devices. “Some screens work much better in a landscape view,” Engadget reports, explaining that as long as the stream is encoded properly end-users get to choose the version that works best for their device.

The picture will autorotate, optimizing for how viewers are holding their phones. Viewers can also “customize chat to have more control over how much chat they see on screen,” Mashable contextualizes. The improvement makes it easier for end-users “to participate in events like Hype Train” community celebrations and support creators by subbing, gifting, and cheering while watching their stream in full screen.

Twitch plans to start testing the feature “with a small number of channels” through the summer, expanding access later in the year, according to Engadget.

Another new feature, Rewind, lets viewers rewind a screen for any parts they missed, then hop back to join the action in real time — something Twitch says has been a “frequent community request.”